On October 28, 2023, 46-year-old Charmel Dawn Mason of Hopewell, Virginia, was fatally shot inside a residence on Danville Street. Responding officers arrived after a 3:28 p.m. call and found Mason with a gunshot wound; she died at the scene despite medical attention.

Investigators concluded the shooting was accidental. Police charged her 19-year-old son, Benjamin Tyler Mason, with reckless handling of a firearm after the weapon reportedly discharged while he was handling a newly acquired gun, sending a bullet through the house that struck his mother. Benjamin Mason was taken into custody and later released from jail. A graveside service was held the following Friday at Sunset Memorial Park in Chester.

Friends described a close family relationship and deep shock at the loss. If anyone has information about the incident or the events leading up to it, please share what is known.