Brian William Cook was 28 when he was shot and killed on the second-floor landing of the Fairbridge Inn Express on Highway 61 in Villa Rica, Georgia, on the night of May 22, 2018. Cook lived and worked at the motel and had accompanied 29-year-old Ramon Higgs to room 205; Higgs entered the room and an altercation linked to a drug deal erupted. Surveillance shows Higgs fleeing the room with several men in pursuit. As Cook tried to flee, he was grabbed by those men and shot. Higgs also suffered a gunshot wound but left the scene.

Police later found drugs, measuring equipment, and counterfeit twenty-dollar bills in room 205. Murder charges were brought against seven people. Higgs was charged after treatment for his wounds with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of marijuana. Four men who had been inside room 205—Khaaliq Sims, 24; Isiah Roberts, 20; Alvon Darby, 20; and Kyron Doby, 23—were arrested and charged with murder and two counts of aggravated assault; Roberts faced an additional felon-in-possession count. Warrants were issued for 19-year-olds Briahious McPherson and Ricardo Joiner on murder and aggravated assault charges after they initially evaded capture. Anyone with information on Cook, the events at the motel, or the people involved is asked to come forward.