GLOUCESTER COUNTY, Va. — Update: The Gloucester County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post on January 2 that Winnington had been arrested. This is still an ongoing investigation.
The Gloucester County Sheriff's Office was looking for a 15-year-old boy after they say he shot and killed one man and hurt another early New Year's morning.
According to a release, someone called the sheriff's office just after 1 a.m. regarding a shooting in the 7800 Block of Guinea Road (in the Hayes area of Gloucester).
When deputies got to the scene, they found a large group of people gathered.
They then found a man dead from an apparent gunshot wound. They also found another man who had been shot. Medics took him to a local hospital, and he was eventually released.
Family and friends of the victim later came forward to identify the deceased as 19-year-old Tyler Heywood. His family described Heywood as a kind and loving person.
"Very polite, hardworking, he was just a kind-hearted person who had many friends," said Rev. Rickey Thompkins, the victim's uncle. "Everyone in our family is hurt because Tyler was well-loved."
According to Heywood's family, Tyler was attending a New Year's Eve party on Guinea Road that ended violently.
A GoFundMe has been set up in Tyler's honor by his employer, Village Landscape, to help the family. The company sent us the following statement:
"Tyler was a hardworking family guy and it is a tragic loss. Tyler was a great asset to our team and had a huge place in his heart for his family."
After Gloucester County investigators arrived on the scene, interviewed witnesses and recovered physical evidence, it was determined that the suspect in the shooting was Corbin Chase Winnington, 15, of Hayes.
He had left the scene before deputies got there.
The release said that "petitions and a detention order have been filed against Winnington charging him with malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony." They said that additional charges will be filed as the investigation continues.
They said Winnington is currently at large and believed to be armed and dangerous.
It also said: "While it is not this agency’s normal practice to release the name or likeness of a juvenile suspect, the danger to the community and the need to safely take Mr. Winnington into custody makes this release necessary."
Anyone with any knowledge about this incident, or who might know the location of Corbin Chase Winnington is asked to please contact the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office at (804) 693-3890 or the Crime Line at 888-LOCK-U-UP (888-562-5887). Callers may reference case number 2023-00001.