CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — In the parking lot of the Foodbank in Norfolk on Tidewater Drive is where 26-year-old Dorian Holmes was found on October 10, 1999, after he was gunned down at a nearby nightclub.
Holmes left behind a one-year-old daughter named Amari and a 7-year-old son named Tiquan.
The day after the murder, 10 On Your Side interviewed Henry Choice, the man who was considered Holmes father, outside his Chesapeake home.
“This is a blow to the family and we are having a hard time. He had a couple of kids that he loved dearly, a daughter a year old and a son who was 7 years old,” Choice said.
23 years later, 10 On Your Side shared the archive video with Holmes’ cousin and brother who were 15 years old when Dorian, known as Doe, was killed. They viewed the story with sadness as they weighed the similarities between Holmes’s death and the death of his son, Tiquan Smith.
On the evening of November 20, 30-year-old Tiquan Smith was driving on South Military Highway when he was shot and killed. Smith left behind 1-year-old Z’Lahni and 9-year-old Nia.
“It’s a replica. Same exact thing. Two young men are being taken out. It’s generational, special young men, special people who meant a lot to a lot of people,” said Tiquan Smith’s relatives Ray Lee and Jason Holmes.
A makeshift memorial marks the spot where Smith’s vehicle came to rest. Chesapeake Police say they are reviewing surveillance video in an effort to find the killer.
Smith’s entire family is trying to process the grief that now spans more than two decades.
Regina Mobley: do you think society understands the generational trauma that you have experienced?
Ray Lee: No, not to the fullest, people go to the military to get PTSD. We got PTSD.
In Lieu of flowers and cards, the family asks that mourners contribute at a Gofundme page. The family says the proceeds will be used for expenses and support for the family.
Funeral services for Smith are set for Friday Dec. 2 at 10:30 a.m. at Metropolitan Funeral Service in Berkley.
Chesapeake police say anyone with information on the truck driver who shot and killed Smith is asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
