On October 1, 2020, police in New Madrid, Missouri, responded to a shooting at a local residence and found 19-year-old Donta Lamar Grissom with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers encountered 31-year-old George William Dawson III at the home and identified him as the primary suspect. Dawson told detectives he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from military service in Afghanistan and was unsure whether he had been taking his prescribed medication correctly. Witnesses at the scene said Grissom had not been threatening Dawson before the shooting.

Dawson was taken into custody and held in the Mississippi County Jail; initial charges included first-degree murder and armed criminal action. What details about the events leading up to the shooting remain unclear? If anyone was present or has information about that night, please come forward.