A late-evening shooting on September 1, 2023, left 18-year-old Alex Omar Cartagena Jr. dead in a Sterling, Virginia neighborhood. Deputies from the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office were called to the 21000 block of Stanford Square just after 10:30 p.m. and found Alex suffering from gunshot wounds; he was pronounced deceased at the scene after life-saving efforts by deputies and emergency medical services.

Detectives and crime-scene personnel investigated and identified another teenager from the community. On the afternoon of September 3, 2023, at about 1:20 p.m., 18-year-old Jaylin E. O’Brien of Sterling was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and two counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. O’Brien was booked into the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center and held without bond. The investigation remained ongoing and authorities asked anyone with information to come forward.

If anyone in the Sterling area has information about what happened that night, please share what you know with the authorities.