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Fredericksburg, Virginia – A 19-year-old was shot and killed while attempting to break up a fight at a bonfire party in the Virginia woods. For the crime, authorities have arrested and charged an 18-year-old Black man, the Justice Report has learned.
Christian Archen Whalen—who is White—was part of a “large group” of people in a wooded area of Spotsylvania County, about 55 miles outside of Richmond. Reports state that a fight broke out among other partygoers just after midnight on Sunday.
Whalen, described as a “gentle, genuine, loyal, and caring person” by his 16-year-old fiancé, Lacy Milling, tried to intervene and stop the altercation.
In the process, Whalen was shot “in the lower extremity.” Responding officers on the scene immediately rushed to provide life-saving measures, but Whalen ultimately succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities have since charged 18-year-old Kenneth Watson—who is Black—with homicide and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for allegedly firing the fatal shot. Watson is being held without bond.
NEW: 19-year-old was shot dead while trying to break up a fight at a bonfire party
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) September 4, 2024
Christian Archen Whalen was at a party in the woods in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, when a fight started after midnight on Sunday
Police identified 18-year-old Kenneth Watson as the shooter… pic.twitter.com/w8n79hybwX
Prior to the incident, Milling said she had warned Whalen not to go to the party, but he decided to attend anyway. When he stopped replying to her texts, Milling grew concerned, eventually coming across social media posts asking for prayers for his recovery.
Milling’s fears were confirmed later that evening when she received a two-word text from Whalen’s father that “Christian died.”
Milling is devastated from losing the “love of her life” and the future they had dreamed of building together. She further described Whalen as someone who “does not like arguing at all” and would “help anybody, like, even it came down to his worst enemy,”
“He took what I wanted the most, which was almost a family to grow up with,” Milling told a local news outlet. “I almost had what I wanted, but he took it from me.”
Milling has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of funeral and memorial arrangements. At the time of press, it has raised only $1,105 of its intended $20,000 goal.
In the United States, young White people have increasingly found themselves the targets of Black violence.
Last week, a 16-year-old White boy was shot to death just before his 17th birthday in what reports state was a “gun deal gone wrong.” Police then arrested a Black man who was involved in a different fatal shooting prior to the incident.
Last month, a 14-year-old White girl was killed and discovered on the banks of the Red River, which divides the states of Minnesota and North Dakota. Her adult Black “boyfriend” was charged with the crime after he attempted to scapegoat a non-existent White man before confessing to authorities.
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