08/10/2025
From Ted Shockley:
I would like to apologize to readers for the front-page headline in the Friday, Aug. 8, edition about Miles McIntyre’s death.
The headline, “Miles of questions,” received significant criticism for being insensitive and disrespectful, which was never the intent. We have changed the headline on the online edition.
I specifically apologize to Miles’ family if the headline caused even more grief during a devastating week.
I also regret that the headline took away from important concerns raised in the reporting. I stand by the articles about Miles’ death, which drew both condemnation and support.
I feel the newspaper should help the public know the circumstances of Miles’ death so we all can learn from it.
Like you, I have questions about Miles’ death. Like you, I am devastated by it.
Like you, I knew Miles.
He was a fantastic young man, one of the nicest and most talented young people I’ve ever known.
He dined with our family many times, laughed with us, spent the night at our home with our pet beagle in his lap.
When it was time to paint my old pickup truck, he painted a perfect Batman shield on top of the cab.
When our feisty kitty cat left home and never returned, he drew a spot-on rendition of our cat continuing her battles elsewhere.
But I am most remembering May 31, 2019, when Miles helped my son and I load into our van bundles of newspapers from a printing press in Virginia Beach.
Late that afternoon, as the three of us delivered papers in southern Northampton County, we began to hear news reports of a mass shooting in Virginia Beach. In all, 13 people died, including the shooter.
The news reports were horrifying and we were stunned to learn that we had been just 10 miles away from the incident.
The three of us had a conversation about the tragedy as we drove north on U.S. Route 13, and we had questions.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Why are there such tragedies in the world? How can we prevent these tragedies?
It was a touching conversation to have with Miles. I didn’t have any good answers that day and I still don’t.
Miles’ death has me replaying that conversation continuously in my mind — and asking those same questions we discussed that day six years ago.
You probably have those questions, too.
— Ted Shockley
