Law enforcement has arrested a 25-year-old man accused of fatally shooting his estranged wife’s new fiancé in Salem, Virginia.
The suspect, identified as Zane Christian, 25, reportedly approached his estranged wife and the victim, Rico Turner, 27, on Nov. 9, while they were walking through the Lakeside Shopping Center in Salem with three children, WSLS reports. According to the Salem Police Department, Christian allegedly fired shots at Turner, who was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died.
Christian reportedly fled the scene of the shooting by the time police officers arrived. Investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies immediately began searching for him.
“After investigating the scene, Salem police filed charges against Christian that included malicious wounding, reckless handling of a firearm, and three counts of child neglect,” the police department stated in its report. “The felony murder charge was added after Mr. Turner’s passing.”
On Tuesday, Nov. 10, just one day after the shooting, Christian was located and arrested by the U.S. Marshals and Task Force agents in neighboring West Virginia. In a press release, law enforcement agents confirmed Christian had been taken into custody at the Jackson County, West Virginia jail, as he awaits extradition back to Virginia.
Three additional charges of child endangerment were against Christian because the three children — his estranged wife’s two children and Turner’s son — witnessed the fatal shooting.
