A teenager at a bonfire party was shot dead while trying to break up a fight in the Virginia woods just after midnight on Sunday, and his girlfriend learned the tragic news in a two-word text from his father.
Christian Archen Whalen, 19, was with "a large group" that had gathered and were "trespassing" on property owned by Spotsylvania County when the fight broke out, police said in a press release Monday.
When Whalen tried to break up the fight, another teenager shot him "in the lower extremity," police said.
Deputies responded around 1 a.m. to reports of a shooting, and Whalen was taken to a hospital, where he died.
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Whalen’s girlfriend, Lacy Milling, told NBC4 that she warned him against going to the party and became worried when he did not return her texts. Her fears were confirmed when she started seeing posts about Whalen on social media.
"Then I go on Snapchat and I see people posting on their story ‘pray for Christian,’" she told the outlet. "Just, it was everywhere."
Later, she received a heartbreaking text from Whalen's father.
"I see a notification from his dad saying, ‘Christian died,’" she said. "Literally, two words."
When detectives interviewed witnesses at the scene, they determined that 18-year-old Kenneth Watson had fired the shot that killed Whalen.
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Watson was charged with homicide and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
"On behalf of Sheriff Roger Harris, we offer our sincere condolences to Christian’s family and friends," the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said.
On a fundraising page, Milling called Whalen her "fiance," and "the most gentle, genuine, loyal, and caring person somebody could ever meet," adding, "He would always say his I love you’s & thank you’s before he left to go anywhere because he always said, ‘the next 30 minutes isn’t promised.’"
Milling said the last words she received from Whalen were "I’m sorry that I’m not the best person, but I love you."
"His poor family now has to live on without their precious son because of these selfish people that don’t deserve to carry guns," she wrote.
Police said they are still investigating, and detectives are relying on witnesses who may have been at the party who left before police arrived. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office.
