‘It’s just very scary’: Police investigating deadly shooting in Midlothian neighborhood

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) - Early Monday morning, investigators from the Chesterfield County Police Department lined North Carriage Lane in Midlothian to investigate a shooting that left one man dead early Monday morning.

Around 3:30 a.m. on Halloween, Capt. Michael Breeden with Chesterfield Police said officers were called to the 14000 block of North Carriage Lane for a reported shooting.

“A female from inside a residence heard a noise and then heard a gunshot, and she called 911,” said Capt. Breeden.

When the woman went outside, Capt. Breeden said she found her boyfriend in the driveway suffering from a gunshot wound.

Officers attempted life-saving measures, but 56-year-old Robert C. Ashburn was pronounced dead at the scene.

At this point in their investigation, police determined Ashburn was leaving his home to head to work shortly before 3:30 a.m. when he saw someone going through his girlfriend’s unlocked car. When Ashburn confronted the suspect, he was shot.

Police say the suspect ran away from the scene. There’s currently no description information about the suspect.

On Wednesday, police released surveillance video of the suspect rummaging through the vehicle; the vehicle is visible in the upper left corner of the video.

The suspect and Ashburn can be heard speaking before the shooting towards the end of the clip. In the recording, the suspect can be heard saying: “Bro, stop. Bro, stop, bro. Bro, stop, bro.” The suspect’s voice is the louder of the two voices; the quieter voice is that of Ashburn.

At this time, investigators also believe this was a random incident.

“He was getting ready to go to work and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Capt. Breeden. “We haven’t had a lot of incidents in that particular area.”

Several residents, who talked to NBC12, said this situation came as a shock to them.

Christine Bell drove into the neighborhood on Monday afternoon to check on her family member who lives near the scene.

“I’ve lived here in Midlothian for about 28 years now and have never seen or heard of anything like this happening this close to home,” she said. “Just hard to believe that something like this happened here.”

As investigators look for leads, in this case, Bell said this situation leaves her concerned, which she said is “very, very abnormal” for the area.

“Just knowing that it was so close and that the person walked away on foot, it’s just very scary,” Bell said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.

Chesterfield Police is also asking residents in the surrounding Coalfield area who may have found their car broken into to call investigators.

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