TAPPAHANNOCK, Va. — A man was arrested on first-degree murder charges after he allegedly shot and killed another man Sunday evening, according to Tappahannock Police. Officers were called to the Rappahannock Apartments on Winston Road for a shots fired call around 9 p.m.
When officers arrived, they found 23-year-old Danny Gray Jones Jr. of Tappahannock shot to death.
According to witnesses, the shooter left the area with two small children.
Then around 9:30 p.m., a man called the Essex Sheriff’s Office stating he was the shooter. He said he had his two children with him and was at his home on Tanyard Drive.
Tappahannock officers, as well as crews from the Essex Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police, responded to the home and ordered the man to come outside.
The suspect, 26-year-old Terry Devon Finney of Tappahannock, was taken into custody without incident and a handgun was recovered.
Police said their investigation found that Finney and Jones knew each other and had earlier disputes over Finney’s children.
“What we know so far is that victim was dating the mother of the suspect’s children and there was some kind of dispute involving the kids,” Chief James G. Ashworth Jr. said. “This is a terrible tragedy and one that could’ve been avoided.”
Finney was charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and two counts of child endangerment.
Finney is being held without bond at the Middle Peninsula Regional Security Center in Saluda.
