ASHBURN, Va. — The family of a 19-year-old teenager found shot and killed in the parking lot of an Ashburn apartment complex is still trying to figure out why anyone would kill him.
Deputies were called out to the 44400 block of Keller Square before 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday about a “pedestrian struck” and shots fired call. They found Michai Dandridge-Carter of Sterling laying on the ground with a gunshot wound.
An LCSO spokesperson said the investigation is active. The department hasn’t released any more information on what led up to the shooting and description of the attacker.
Dandrige-Carter was attending Northern Virginia Community College to study HVAC systems, according to his family. He was also a manager at a nearby Wegmans.
The 19-year-old graduated from Potomac Falls High School.
His stepfather Les Williams told WUSA9 that he was a “hard-worker and a go-getter who stayed out of trouble.”
“He’s not anyone who will go out and hurt people,” Williams said. “He was a typical teenager.”
Williams also said that Dandridge-Carter delivered groceries through the Instacart app. While the case remains under investigation, he said he wouldn’t be surprised if he was trying to make money that night by delivering groceries.
At the apartment complex, Zena Cantuba remembered coming home from work to witness his body on the ground.
“I just don’t feel safe anymore,” Cantuba told WUSA9.
Another resident said he didn’t hear any commotion outside but came out when he saw the deputy lights. He saw Dandridge-Carter’s body next to a white car, which bumped into his SUV and left damage.
“I’m traumatized because that's my first time seeing that kind of stuff,” he said.
The LCSO is asking anyone who was in the area and may have seen anything, or has any other information about this incident, to contact Detective K. Mitchell at 703-777-1021. Callers wishing to remain anonymous are asked to call Loudoun County Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919 or submit a tip through the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office app.