On February 17, 2023, 21-year-old Nabel Christopher Chávez was shot and killed inside a home on East Reed Avenue in Alexandria’s Lynhaven neighborhood. Officers who responded around 2:50 p.m. pronounced Chávez dead at the scene from a single gunshot wound to the head; the medical examiner later ruled the death a homicide caused by a gunshot.

Police arrested 19-year-old Junior Josue Espinal Calix at the scene. Investigators say Chávez, Espinal Calix and a third friend had been drinking and smoking marijuana that afternoon. Espinal Calix told officers he had bought a 9mm handgun online and that he and Chávez would sometimes play with the weapon. Believing he had removed the magazine and emptied the chamber, Espinal Calix pointed the gun at Chávez and pulled the trigger; a single round remained in the chamber and struck Chávez in the face.

Espinal Calix later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, suspended, with five years of probation. Does anyone have additional details about Chávez or the Lynhaven neighborhood that could shed light on what led to this fatal afternoon?