On the evening of December 12, 2015, 35-year-old Morris Bates Sr. was found unresponsive just before 9 p.m. in the 3100 block of General Ogden Street near Forshey Street in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans. He had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

A lifelong New Orleans resident born September 17, 1980, Bates left behind an extensive family that included eight children, his father, his grandmother, and twelve siblings. Funeral services were held the following Saturday at Nazareth Baptist Church and he was buried at Providence Memorial Park in Metairie.

The New Orleans Police Department opened a homicide investigation, but information about the circumstances that led to the shooting has not been released and no arrests or suspects have been publicly identified. If anyone knew Morris or saw activity in the Hollygrove area that evening, please come forward with information.