On the night of November 5, 2020, in the 900 block of South First Street in Charlottesville, police found 27-year-old Dre’Shawn Rayvon McDonald with a gunshot wound. Officers and paramedics performed life-saving measures and McDonald was taken to the University of Virginia Hospital, where he died a short time later.

Detectives worked the scene that night and identified a suspect. Warrants were obtained the next morning for 22-year-old Tajuan Rahmeen Allen of Fluvanna County, charging him with second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Allen was taken into custody in Pennsylvania on November 29, 2020. Reports say Allen had a prior 2016 conviction for pistol-whipping, choking, and firing a gun at a female friend.

The shooting also spurred discussion by the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s safety committee about adding surveillance cameras in the area. If anyone witnessed the November 5 shooting or has information about McDonald’s movements that evening, please come forward.