Fast-food worker killed days before 18th birthday, VA cops say. Suspect now identified
An outgoing teenager just starting a job as a fast-food worker was killed days before his 18th birthday, Virginia news outlets reported.
“This was my boy getting his life together,” the teen’s mother, Veronica Fullerton, told The Virginian-Pilot. “He was excited. He was looking forward to his birthday and getting his first paycheck at Rally’s.”
But 17-year-old Brian Fullerton’s life was cut short when a fight broke out at his workplace on Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving. The teen was shot at the restaurant and died from his injuries at a hospital, according to news reports and the Hampton Police Division.
Now, weeks after the shooting, police announced that an “armed and dangerous” suspect has been identified. Police in a Dec. 13 news release didn’t share attorney information for the man, identified as 25-year-old Elijah James-Sanders.
Rally’s didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Dec. 14.
The shooting was reported at the Rally’s restaurant in Hampton, near Norfolk. The suspected shooter is accused of leaving the scene, prompting police and loved ones to turn to the public for help.
“I’m just pleading to the community if they can assist in finding the killer for Brian because we are urging very much,” the teen’s mother, who WAVY identified as Veronica Fullerton Fagan, told the TV station. “Brian was a good boy. Brian was my child, I love him, and I would like the killer to be found for Brian’s murder.”
Brian Fullerton, who was adopted, reunited with his biological mother weeks before he died. He is remembered as a talkative high school senior who was working at Rally’s to earn extra cash before moving to North Carolina, according to The Virginian-Pilot and an online obituary.
“He was a lively and warm-hearted teenager who had overcome a difficult beginning to be a hardworking and gregarious student at Hampton High School, a JROTC participant, and a member of Sharon Baptist Church,” loved ones wrote in the post on the Nickelson-Cummings Funeral Home website.
The Hampton Police Division didn’t immediately share additional details about the teen’s shooting death with McClatchy News. As of Dec. 13, James-Sanders was wanted in the case.
The suspect, a Newport News resident, reportedly had “warrants on file for one count each of 2nd degree murder, burglary with the intent to commit assault, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, discharging a firearm in an occupied dwelling, and wearing a mask in public.” Police ask anyone with information to call them at 757–727–6111, the Crime Line at 888-562-5887 or visit P3tips.com.
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