Virginia Navy corpsman shoots two female colleagues before killing himself in double murder-suicide case
Police authorities in Virginia are currently investigating the shooting deaths of three active duty service members in what looks like a double murder and suicide case. 19-year-old Shianne Soles of Veradale, Washington, and 23-year-old Meaghan Burns of Massachusetts were found fatally shot in their torsos at a 7-Eleven in Portsmouth, Virginia, Saturday at about 11.30 pm.
Authorities also found 22-year-old Donovan Moora of New York, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his upper body inside a car at a nearby Dollar General store. However, all three service members were declared dead on the scene, and any news of a relationship between the trio has not been established yet, reported Virginian-Pilot.
Moora, according to reports, was stationed at Field Medical Training Battalion East in Jacksonville, N.C., which was later confirmed by Ed Gulick, a Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery spokesman. Meanwhile, Burns enlisted in the Navy in September 2015, and Soles enlisted less than a year ago in July. It appears that Moora shot the two women before turning the weapon on himself.
"Mental health professionals and chaplains are at each location to assist anyone dealing with the grief and difficult nature of this tragedy," Gulick wrote in a press release issued as part of the ongoing investigations in the case. "Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and shipmates during this difficult time."
Robert Joyner, who lives across the street from the 7-Eleven, witnessed the series of events firsthand and later told WAVY that he first thought someone was banging on the screen door, so he ran downstairs to see what was happening.
He told the news station further: "Next thing you know, you look across the street and the dude is freaking out, screaming, running to his car. I went running across the street and looked in the car and there was two females laid over both dead in the car and a bunch of bullet holes in the windows." Detectives with the Portsmouth Police Department Major Crimes Unit and the Navy's NCIS are said to be investigating the incident.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887).