THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 6, 1996 TAG: 9604060284
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
It was opening night for the Norfolk Tides and 43-year-old Frank Gibson Jr. wasn't about to miss the game. He even borrowed a few bucks from his brother, Wayne, to help him pay for a night out with a friend.
But Thursday's season opener went on and on, lasting 15 innings and ending near midnight in a 1-0 loss to Toledo. It was just two innings short of the Tides' longest game in history.
The six extra innings proved tragic for Gibson, a 25-year veteran at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth and father of three young children, the oldest of whom is 9 and the youngest, 2.
Gibson became separated from his friend, and twice telephoned home to find out if anyone had called. Nobody knew where Frank's friend was.
It also left Frank without a ride home.
``The last time I talked to him it was about 10:30 or 11, I think,'' said Wayne Gibson.
About 2 1/2 hours later, at 1:30 a.m. Friday, Gibson was found shot to death in the parking lot of the Twin B Auto Parts Store in the 4100 block of George Washington Highway. His wallet was gone.
The shooting occurred less than a half-mile from Gibson's home in the 1900 block of Redgate Drive.
``He was almost here,'' said his sister-in-law, who asked not to be identified.
Amber Whittaker, Portsmouth police spokeswoman, said Friday afternoon that police did not have a suspect, and had not established a motive.
``He was the kind of guy who was liked by everybody,'' said Therese O'Connor Gibson, Frank Gibson's 35-year-old wife.
``He did not have an enemy in the world.''
Family members don't know how Gibson got from the ballpark to the auto parts store parking lot, a distance of several miles.
Wayne Gibson, 35, speculated his brother left Harbor Park, took the Elizabeth River ferry from Norfolk to Portsmouth and walked or caught a ride to the 4100 block of George Washington Highway.
``The only reason he would have been there is if he was walking home,'' Wayne Gibson said.
``He didn't go to the bars down there, and he didn't have any friends or business down there. But we really don't know what happened between the game and Twin B.''
Police reported a disturbance about midnight at a McDonald's restaurant on George Washington Highway, about one-half mile from where Gibson's body was found. It involved young men, and witnesses told police they saw a shotgun and a baseball bat.
Investigators were unable to confirm Friday if there was any connection between the disturbance and Gibson's death.
Meanwhile, the Gibson family will have to cope with the emptiness and guilt associated with a loved one's death.
``I can't help thinking I should have been able to do something about it,'' said Wayne Gibson. ``Like, gone to the game with him or something.''
His brother's death also poses an enormous economic problem for Gibson's widow and children, said Wayne Gibson, who lives around the corner from his brother's family in the Cradock section.
``Right now, we are at a loss because he was the breadwinner . . . ,'' Gibson said. ``We are going to have to move that around. I don't know what is going to happen, actually.'' MEMO: Police are asking anyone with information about the fatal shooting to
call Detective LeRoy Saunders at 393-8536.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Frank Gibson Jr., 43, left a wife and three children.
by CNB