Roanoke Police investigate murder; Search for shooter

Updated 5:14 p.m.

By Candice Nelson

Roanoke City Police are investigating a homicide Saturday in the 3800 block of Shenandoah Avenue and are still looking for any suspects. Roanoke City investigators spent the day Saturday collecting, measuring, and taking pictures of evidence.

Police say they found Arazae Andre Johnson, 20 of Roanoke, shot around 4 a.m. on Saturday. They say he was lying in the passenger’s side of a small car in the parking lot of 3822 Shenandoah Avenue. He was pronounced dead at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

It was a shocking site for Purnima Patel when she came into work at the Getty Mart next door.

“I saw all the police and everything. I was shocked so I asked the police what’s going on,” she said.

Roanoke City Police say they were called after someone reported that shots were fired.

Police say a private party was going on inside the building. Rag and Purnima Patel own the Getty Mart next door and say they close around 11p.m. every day. They say they didn’t see anything out of the ordinary when they left that night.

However, they did notice the windows to the building were blocked with black tarps before the party.

“Glass was covered on the one side,” Rag Patel said, adding that it’s not usually like that.

“The Patels say they’ve noticed more crime in this area.  They said, just last month, someone tried to rob them, even fired a gun as they were closing up for the night.

“Now the crime is too much,” Rag said.

Lately, workers want to make sure they’re safe at night and not alone.

“We are now two people at the nighttime,” Purnima said. 

Around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, police were still looking for any suspects. They wouldn’t release whether any weapons were recovered or if the car belonged to Johnson.

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9:14 a.m.

Roanoke City Police are investigating a murder that happened early Saturday morning, September 6th.

Officers say they found a Arazae Andre Johnson shot to death inside a car in a parking lot off of the 3800 block of Shenandoah Avenue, around 3:47 a.m.

People at the scene tell police that there was a private party in the building on the property where Johnson’s body was found.

If you have any information, call the Crime Line at 344-8500.