Suspect Identified in Murder of Pioneering Virginia Firefighter Who Died Shielding Her 5-Year-Old Son From Gunfire

A suspect was arrested in connection with the Thanksgiving murder of a Virginia firefighter who was hailed as a pioneer for other women and girls.

A grand jury in Richmond recently indicted Darrell Donnell Taylor Jr., 30, on multiple counts that included murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, conspiracy to commit murder, and shooting into an occupied building, WRIC reported.

He was being held at Lawrenceville Correctional Center on unrelated charges, according to the outlet.

On Thanksgiving evening, 2019, Taylor is accused of fatally shooting Ashley Berry, who died from her injuries at an area hospital the following day.

William Berry told WRIC his niece, a lieutenant with the Richmond Fire Department, was killed while trying to protect her then-5-year-old son from gunfire.

“She wanted to … really be a pioneer for the other young ladies and females to let them know, that nothing is impossible,” he said.

The investigation is ongoing, and police have not released a possible motive for the killing.