Alexandria Police ID Victim in Lynhaven Shooting

Alexandria police have identified the victim in Wednesday morning's suspicious death in Lynhaven as 22-year-old city resident Julian Dawkins.

• See: Police Interviewing Arlington Sheriff's Deputy in Suspicious Death Case

At 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, officers responded to reports of a person being shot in the 100 block of Lynhaven Drive. Police quickly located the male victim, who was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to a release from the Alexandria Police Department.  

Police said they have questioned Arlington County Sheriff’s Deputy Craig Patterson, 44, who was involved in the shooting.

Patterson, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, is also an Alexandria resident, police said. He has been placed on administrative leave.

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No charges have been filed and an investigation is ongoing. The cause and manner of death are pending autopsy results from the medical examiner’s office.

Dawkins is a nephew of Alexandria Cicuit Court Judge Nolan Dawkins, according to several friends of the victim. 

WTOP reported that the shooting resulted from an altercation between Dawkins and Patterson.

NBC Washington has some details about a confrontation:

One woman, who asked to not be identified, said she heard the shot and the argument that proceeded it.

"The man ran down the street yelling, 'I'll be back. You best believe I'll be back.' And then maybe about three, four minutes later, I heard one 'pop'...I rushed outside, and I saw a young man laying in the people's yard not moving, not breathing, not nothing..."

Police say the gun used was Patterson's service weapon.

Dawkin's mother, Gwenetta Pratt-Miller, says she's been told very little about her son's death.

"Something ain't right, something ain't right...something is definitely not right," she lamented.

WNEW is reporting that there’s some dispute as to whether an altercation occurred.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the Alexandria Police Department at 703-746-6711.

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