NORFOLK — A Chesapeake man has been arrested on charges stemming from a shooting on West 43rd Street that killed a William & Mary football player last week.
Kri’Shawn D. Beamon, 20, of the 3500 block of Coleshill Lane in Chesapeake, is charged with second-degree murder, robbery, and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Beamon was arrested Monday afternoon at his home without incident, police said.
Officers responded to the shooting in the 800 block of West 43rd Street around 11:50 p.m. on March 21. When police arrived, they found Nathan A. Evans, 19, of Williamsburg outside on the sidewalk suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Evans was a running back for the Tribe football team.
Related story: The man shot to death in Norfolk was a William & Mary football player
Police said they are investigating this as an isolated incident — detectives have not released the motive or circumstance surrounding this shooting.
Beamon is being held in the Norfolk City Jail without bond.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the incident to call the Norfolk Crime Line at Line 888-LOCK-U-UP or submit a tip through the P3Tips mobile app.
A vigil at William & Mary
A short walk from the practice facility in Williamsburg where Evans spent countless hours with just teammates and coaches, more than 1,000 people gathered Monday night to celebrate his life.
Evans, a 19-year-old running back from Lee-Davis High School in Mechanicsville, was finishing his sophomore year at William & Mary.
W&M President Katherine Rowe, Athletics Director Samantha Huge and football coach Mike London were among those who spoke.
“Tonight, we will laugh and we will cry, and both are OK,” Huge said.
Teammate and close friend Carl Fowler, who met Evans the summer before their freshmen year, did just that.
“I had a joke written about how Nate’s going to be disappointed when he sees how few people were here, but there are so many people here,” Fowler said, looking up at the stands in Kaplan Arena, seeing one side nearly filled with fellow athletes, students and administrators, as well as friends, family members and members of the community.
Fowler recalled Evans as a sharp dresser and “the goofy kid that he was. He was kind and loving, big-hearted, and he was so many other things.”
During the 45-minute ceremony, Evans also was remembered for his passion, spirit, energy, smile and love of tattoos and music.
“You inspired so much happiness and joy and light-heartedness,” Fowler said. “You will live on as that person in our hearts because that’s who you really were.”
A statement from Evans’ family, which was read by friend and football team mom Stephanie Dulaney, mentioned how his mother searched for the right names to give him. She finally decided on Nathan because it means “gift from God” and Andrew as a middle name because it means “strong warrior.”
London, who was named the Tribe’s coach in November 2018, knew Evans for only a few short months, but learned how he lived up to his names.
“Nate was competitive. He wanted the best out of everybody,” London said.
In two seasons on the football field, Evans rushed for 684 yards and five touchdowns. He led the Tribe his freshman year with 476 yards on 119 carries. He was the first true freshman to play at running back for the Tribe since Jonathan Grimes in 2008.
