Michael Kenagy's parents knew their son was putting his life on the line when he joined the Army. But they said they never imagined his death would come over a fight about loud music. And they never thought their son's best friend would be charged with killing him.
Kenagy, 24, a specialist in the Army, was shot through a bedroom door and killed Sunday night by his roommate, Wayne S. Grimm, in their Annandale apartment, police said. The two men were members of the Army's prestigious Old Guard unit, based at Fort Myer in Arlington.
Wayne S. Grimm is accused of shooting his roommate.
(Courtesy Fairfax Police)
|
|
A spat over loud music may have led to the shooting, family members said.
Grimm, 22, also an Army specialist, was arrested and charged with manslaughter, police said. He is being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
Kenagy's wife, Julie, 22, who was in the apartment at the time, said the two men were like brothers. Kenagy asked Grimm to be his best man when he decided on the spur of the moment to get married in 2003.
The Old Guard is the Army's ceremonial unit and its oldest infantry division. It participates in such ceremonies as funerals at Arlington National Cemetery and presidential inaugurations. Kenagy participated in President Bush's inauguration last month, family members said. In 2003, the unit was deployed for an overseas military assignment for the first time since the Vietnam War.
Grimm was Kenagy's "closest friend in the military," Julie Kenagy said yesterday through sobs. Grimm "would never, never, have hurt him on purpose. It was an accident."
Kenagy and his wife were getting back from a weekend getaway when an argument broke out between the two friends, family members said. Grimm fired his handgun at his own bedroom door, which was closed, not realizing that Kenagy was standing right outside, they said.
The bullet hit Kenagy in the upper body, police said. He was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Neither police nor Julie Kenagy would discuss in detail what the argument was about.
Kenagy's father, Michael Kenagy Sr., who lives in Hubbard, Ore., said he planned to visit Grimm in jail to get his side of the story.
"I'm working on finding out what happened myself. I don't know the truth," the elder Kenagy said. "I think it was an accidental shooting. . . . Grimm was a good friend."
Through tears, he added that he was proud of his son. "He decided to go into the Army for his country -- all by himself," Michael Kenagy Sr. said. "He went in, and I was proud of him being able to do that and step out on his own."
Kenagy's Old Guard unit was "shaken up" by the shooting, said Barbara Owens, a spokeswoman for the Army.
"The entire command is upset for all the families involved," she said. "We are mourning and trying to cope while doing our mission."
Kenagy and his wife never had a chance to go on a honeymoon and were saving money for a long trip together, Julie Kenagy said. The couple, close friends since high school, were married by a judge in Fort Ward Park in Alexandria on a hot summer day in August 2003. Only two other friends attended. Grimm was the best man.
Three months later, Kenagy was deployed to Djibouti in Africa with his unit on an anti-terrorism mission. After he returned eight months later, the couple held a wedding ceremony for friends and family in Oregon, where the couple grew up.
The couple had little time together to enjoy their marriage before he was killed, Julie Kenagy said. It still felt like they were newlyweds. "He was just a kind heart. He had the biggest smile," she said. "He was just a great guy. Now I just don't know what I'll do."
