FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Dozens of family, friends, and law enforcement remembered the life of Nelson Alexander Sr. at the Falls Church bank the 73-year-old man was shot at earlier this month.
Fairfax County Police said Alexander Sr. was shot in the chest while stopping at an ATM on his way to work around 5:20 in the morning on October 20. He later died from his injuries.
Saturday night Alexander Sr.'s family members and lifelong friends lit candles and shared fond memories of the man everyone called loving.
“He was a great person, he was a kind person, and he was a loving person. He loved his family and even those who weren’t, he loved each and every one," Alexander Sr.'s niece said.
Several Fairfax County Police officers were also at the vigil, including Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis and Major Ed O'Carroll. They both vowed their commitment to justice.
“We are sad but we are dedicated and we will relentlessly pursue justice on behalf of Nelson, Cootie, Pop, we will pursue justice on Nelson’s behalf with you and we won’t stop until that happens," Davis said.
On Friday police released new surveillance video of the suspected shooter as well as two other associates with that suspect in the early morning hours before the murder took place.
Surveillance video from a Metro bus in Fairfax County around 1 a.m. October 20 shows three young men talking and laughing.
One of the suspects is seen wearing the distinctive backpack seen in previously released surveillance video from the Falls Church ATM.
“Our goal is to identify all three individuals because we strongly believe the person that ultimately killed Nelson is one of those three individuals," O'Carroll said. "Those other two individuals are high persons of interest.”
O'Carroll said detectives and investigators "firmly believe they were in the community doing other crime," prior to the deadly ATM shooting, and he urged members of the community to take another look at any potential surveillance video they may have, going back several days from the date of the crime.
Members of Alexander Sr.'s family said the 73-year-old husband, father, and uncle came from a large multigenerational family from Fairfax County. They said he loved his family more than anything in the world and in his spare time loved to hunt, watch the Dallas Cowboys and sing in the men's church choir.
At 73 years old, Alexander Sr. continued to work as a delivery driver, his family said.
There is a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the man who shot and killed Alexander Sr.
Tips can be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone, 1-866-411-TIPS, by texting “FCCS” plus tip to 847411, or online HERE.
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