On the evening of Sunday, May 5, 2019, a house party on Atlanta Avenue in Portsmouth, Virginia, ended with 23-year-old Donald Thorington shot after an argument moved outside. Police responded to a 911 call for medical assistance at about 9:29 p.m. and found Thorington with a gunshot wound to his torso; he was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead of multiple gunshot wounds.

Investigators identified 21-year-old fellow Navy sailor Dalen O. Spence as the suspect. A witness told detectives Spence fired after Thorington had placed his hands on Spence’s neck; Spence later claimed he acted in self-defense, saying Thorington was larger. Spence, an Aviation Ordnanceman, was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony; Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents initially detained him before turning him over to the Portsmouth Police.

Thorington, a Petty Officer Third Class from Michigan who had completed nuclear power training and served on the USS George Washington, had moved off base recently and had expressed concern about the area. If anyone attended that party or has information about the argument and what happened outside, please come forward.