A New Year’s Day party in Hayes, Virginia, ended in a fatal shooting that claimed the life of 19-year-old Tyler Heywood of Mathews. The gathering on Guinea Road became chaotic after multiple fights broke out; an argument that began in a kitchen moved outdoors, and witnesses said a crowd watched the altercations. While on the ground during that melee, 15-year-old Corbin Chase Winnington fired a gun. A round struck Damarkus Key in the upper thigh and lower buttock, and another bullet hit Heywood, a bystander who was not involved in the disputes. Heywood was found deceased at the scene from an apparent gunshot wound.

Winnington fled before police arrived but later surrendered to the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office. He faced charges including second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. At trial, testimony said Winnington got the gun on New Year’s Eve from a 13-year-old and had loaded it after arriving because he felt unsafe. A jury convicted him of involuntary manslaughter in Heywood’s death, along with two counts of unlawful wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

If anyone was at that party or has information about what happened that night, please share what you know.