On the morning of December 17, 2025, officers in Reston responded to reports of gunfire at a home in the 12000 block of Fan Shell Court. Inside the residence they found 40-year-old Marvin Ernesto Morales with fatal gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene and the investigation was opened as a homicide. Nearby elementary schools were placed on a secure status while authorities searched the area.

Detectives identified 23-year-old Marvin Fernando Morales-Ortez as the suspect and said he was the victim’s roommate. Morales-Ortez fled after the shooting but was found about two hours later hiding in woods near a creek roughly a mile from the house; he was arrested without incident and police recovered a firearm they believe was used. He was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and held without bond. Federal prosecutors also filed separate charges for possession of a firearm by a person unlawfully present in the United States; an emergency mental-health custody order had been issued for the suspect after an earlier jail release but had expired before he was located.

If anyone has information about Marvin Ernesto Morales, his movements that morning, or the events at the Fan Shell Court residence, please share what you know.