A domestic dispute in a Chesapeake, Virginia home ended in a fatal shooting on August 1, 2025. Officers responding to a residence on Deerfield Crescent around 9:46 p.m. found 61-year-old John Joseph McCarthy suffering from a gunshot wound; he died of that wound. Police say the shooting occurred during an altercation between McCarthy and his adult stepson, who remained at the scene and is cooperating with investigators. Detectives have confirmed the shooting resulted from the dispute, and no criminal charges had been filed against the stepson as of this account.

John Joseph McCarthy, born February 3, 1964, was a U.S. Navy veteran who served as a Machinist Mate. Family members remembered him as selfless and hardworking, devoted to his wife Susan, their children and grandchildren, and fond of his Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Nora, and working his land in Zuni, VA.

If anyone witnessed the incident on Deerfield Crescent or has information about what led to the altercation, please share what is known with Chesapeake police.