HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Two weeks before he was shot outside a Henrico convenience store, 34-year-old Kenneth Christopher from Chesterfield asked his aunt to get burial insurance, saying he felt like he was being followed.
He was taken off life support at VCU Medical Center on Monday, and Henrico Police classified his death as a homicide.
Christopher was an organ donor, and his aunt, Allison, said it matched his giving spirit and compassion for others.
"If he could've been my son, he would've been the perfect son,” said Allison. “He always said, ‘Auntie, I got my work ethic from you.’"
On Feb. 20, Christopher and his girlfriend went grocery shopping and when they got home, they realized they forgot to pick up juice. So, Christopher went back to the corner store off Azalea Avenue near Thrush Lane.
When he walked outside, he was shot multiple times.
His aunt said it was a retaliatory ambush.
"They just took him from us," she said. "He didn't stand a chance."
This wasn't the first time Christopher, a father of three, fought for his life in intensive care this year.
He was also shot in the leg in Mosby Court on New Year’s Eve, one of eight people shot in the city that night. The bullet remained lodged in his leg near a main artery because doctors said it was too risky to remove.
His aunt claims the shootings are because Christopher was vocal when one of his friends was murdered in the city in 2021.
"His good friend got murdered, and it snowballed from there about who said this, and who was going to pay for it, and it just kept on going from there,” said Allison, begging the shooter to turn himself in.
She said Christopher was planning to propose to his girlfriend this month.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
