Crime & Safety

Shooting Suspect, Victim Members Of Gold's Gym, Motive Unknown: Report

Fairfax County Police used accused shooter Steve Taehee Ha's Gold's Gym membership information to located and apprehend him.

Both Steve Taehee Ha of Chantilly and 31-year-old Hyung Joon Choi of Reston were members at the Gold's Gym in Reston.
Both Steve Taehee Ha of Chantilly and 31-year-old Hyung Joon Choi of Reston were members at the Gold's Gym in Reston. (Michael O'Connell/Patch)

Update: An earlier version of this story reported that Chief Kevin Davis said Steve Taehee Ha was not a member of Gold's Gym; the company said Taehee Ha was a gym member.

RESTON, VA — A Chantilly man arrested for Tuesday's fatal shooting in Reston was a member of the gym where the shooting occurred, according to Fairfax County Police.

Chief Kevin Davis told News4’s Jummy Olabanji on Friday morning that FCPD detectives used that information to identify the shooter.

Find out what's happening in Restonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"He left his name and home address at the front desk," Davis said. "That's why our detectives were able to find him so quickly and bring him into custody."

Police arrested Steve Taehee Ha, 43, of Chantilly on Tuesday night and charged him in the death of 31-year-old Hyung Joon Choi of Reston earlier in the day. Both mem were members of the gym.

Find out what's happening in Restonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.


Related: Reston Shooting Victim IDed, Suspect Charged With 2nd-Degree Murder


Taehee Ha remains in custody without bond in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. He faces charges of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

On Friday, Gold’s Gym Metro D.C. CEO Matt Clifford released the following statement:

“We are grateful to law enforcement for quickly apprehending the suspect and are holding the victim’s family in our thoughts during this difficult time. We have confirmed that both men were members who followed security procedures by scanning their membership barcodes upon entering the gym. This has been a shock to our team and gym community and we are continuing to process what happened.”

Investigators are working to determine what motivated Taehee Ha to shoot Choi, Davis told Olabanji.

"We don't know how they knew each other," he said. "We don't know what relationship, if any, they had with each other."

View Jummy Olabanji's full interview with Chief Kevin Davis on News4.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.