A late-night dispute at a Royal Farms on Chincoteague Road in Accomack County ended in a deadly shooting on September 10, 2025. Around 11:24 p.m. deputies found 25-year-old Miguel Ethan Soto Trader unresponsive on the store floor with multiple gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene. A female bystander was also struck by a projectile and taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Investigators quickly identified 19-year-old David Dean Bowden Jr. of New Church as a suspect, saying he and Trader had an ongoing feud over a female. Bowden contacted the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office and was brought in to surrender by his mother. A Hi-Point 9mm semi-automatic pistol was recovered from the vehicle Bowden arrived in.

Bowden is detained without bond at the Accomack County Jail and faces charges including second-degree murder, discharging a firearm within a building, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and unlawful wounding. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office.