Who Shot Jack on ‘Virgin River’?

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Season 4 of Virgin River on Netflix. 

Ever since Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) walked in to find Jack (Martin Henderson) bleeding out on the floor of his bar in Virgin River‘s Season 2 finale, fans of the Netflix series have been anxiously wondering who shot him.

In the Season 3 finale, Brady (Ben Hollingsworth) — Jack’s former friend and fellow Marine — is technically arrested in connection with the shooting. But aside from the fact that he doesn’t seem capable of intentionally putting his friend’s life in danger, he’s repeatedly denied involvement in the crime. Not to mention, several other suspects popped up throughout the season.

Local gang leader Calvin (David Cubitt) and his right-hand man Jimmy (Ian Tracey) seem guilty as hell. It’s no secret that Charmaine’s (Lauren Hammersley) new hubby Todd (Patrick Sabongui) has several bizarre bones to pick with Jack. And some fans are even questioning the intentions of Jack’s pal Mike (Marco Grazing), a detective who seems a little too eager to blame the whole thing on Brady.

Season 3 picks up right after the shooting, then jumps forward three weeks so viewers miss Jack’s recovery process. While Jack’s physically healed in Season 3, he lost his memory after the shooting and can’t remember who attacked him.

In a 2021 interview, Virgin River showrunner Sue Tenney told Entertainment Weekly that she always wanted the reveal of Jack’s shooter to be a slow burn. “I liked the idea of putting Jack in a vulnerable situation, which is he can’t remember something simple. The mental toil for him not being able to remember that piece of time that’s just disappeared is a stressor for him. Everything is a stressor for him because of his background with PTSD. So, we always envisioned it in that way,” she explained. Still, she assured fans they’d find out who shot Jack eventually, and Season 4 finally reveals the secret.

So who shot Jack? We’ll tell you in a second, but first, one more warning that spoilers for Season 4 are absolutely, positively ahead.

Who shot Jack on Virgin River?

Despite everyone wanting to arrest Calvin for Jack’s shooting, there isn’t any concrete evidence tying him to the crime scene. In Season 3, Calvin’s pal Jimmy gets arrested for possible involvement with the shooting, but he’s released shortly after Mike learns he had a solid alibi. Meanwhile, Brady’s formerly solid alibi falls apart, and he becomes the prime suspect. In the Season 3 finale, police search Brady’s house and find the gun used to shoot Jack in Brady’s car. Brady swears he’s being set up, yet Season 4 opens with him in prison.

After Jimmy’s cousin stabs Brady in the prison yard, he’s sent to the hospital, where Jack meets up with Mike and explains he doesn’t think Brady shot him after all. Why? Well, Preacher (Colin Lawrence) showed Jack security footage of a man named Vince (Steve Bacic), the twin brother of Paige Lassiter’s (Michelle Logan) abusive ex-husband Wes. As a refresher, Paige fled town after accidentally killing Wes, then Vince came to town and kidnapped her son Christopher (Chase Petriw). When Jack sees Vince in the security footage he has a flashback to the night he was shot and sees Vince holding the gun. Twist!

Brady eventually gets out of the hospital, and Brie tirelessly works with Mike to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, when Paige returns to Virgin River and learns Vince took Christopher she agrees to trade herself in exchange for his freedom. Vince takes Paige to a cabin in the woods, where Preacher comes to her rescue and tells Vince that Paige didn’t mean to kill Wes, just like he didn’t mean to shoot Jack. Those words lead into another flashback from the night Jack was shot. The blurry scene shows Vince entering the bar and asking Jack if he could speak to Preacher. When Jack goes to call Preacher Vince points a gun at him, Jack slashes him with kitchen knife, and Vince shoots him from the floor.

So Vince was the person who shot Jack. And we don’t just have that flashback as evidence. Vince’s gun was recovered and his DNA was found on a knife at the scene of the crime, too.

In the Season 4 finale, Mike tells Brady he’s a free man and explains that a tip from Brie helped him uncover the truth. Mike learned that Deputy Howard was helping Calvin launder money, then Howard made a deal with the cops and admitted to planting Vince’s gun in Brady’s truck to frame him. The DEA dropped the charges against Brady, so he’s in the clear. But finale ends with Preacher smashing Vince over the head, so it’s unclear if he’s still alive or not. Only Season 5 will tell.