Teen arrested in Merrifield after fatal shooting in Fairfax Village

An 18-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in connection to a fatal shooting in the Fairfax Village Apartments on Saturday (March 25).

Fairfax County police officers were called to the apartment complex in the 10400 block of Viera Lane in Oakton at 7:47 a.m. by a family member of the victim who reported the shooting to 911.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, the family member was in the apartment’s bedroom when they were awoken by a gunshot. They found Javier Gomez, 20, of Fairfax lying on the living room floor and saw the suspect — identified as Darren Cruz Colindres, 18, of Vienna — running out of the apartment.

“This is not a domestic-related shooting, but the suspect is known to the family,” FCPD Lt. James Curry said in a media briefing that morning.

Cruz Colindres had apparently been staying at the apartment overnight, police said.

When officers got to the scene, they found Gomez on the floor with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the upper body and administered medical aid until Fairfax County Fire and Rescue personnel arrived to transport him to a hospital, where he later died.

Officers and detectives tracked Cruz Colindres to a home in the 2700 block of Pleasantdale Road in Merrifield, according to the FCPD, which reported just before noon that a suspect had been taken into custody.

In addition to second-degree murder, Cruz Colindres has been charged with the use of a firearm while committing a felony.

No firearm has been recovered yet, as of 5 p.m. Saturday, when the FCPD issued its news release.

“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy in the coming days to determine the cause and manner of death,” the police department said. “Detectives continue to conduct interviews, collect video surveillance and process evidence recovered from the scene.”

The FCPD says anyone who may have information can contact its Major Crimes Bureau detectives at 703-246-7800, option 2. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone (1-866-411-TIPS) and online.

This was Fairfax County’s second homicide last week after a couple was found dead on a Reston trail on Wednesday (March 22) in what police believe was a murder-suicide incident.