A midday shootout on Gillespie Street in Vidalia, Louisiana, on September 14, 2022, left 27-year-old Nicholas R. Brown dead. Brown, a Black male, was critically wounded in the exchange of gunfire and taken to Trinity Medical Center, where he later died. The Vidalia Police Department arrived at about 12:59 p.m., and Vidalia Junior High School was briefly placed on lockdown as a precaution.

Investigators quickly identified and arrested two suspects. Darius A. McMorris, 26, of Vidalia, was arrested soon after the shooting and charged with murder; authorities identified McMorris as the alleged shooter. A second man, 28-year-old Henry M. Jefferson Jr. of Ferriday, was arrested and charged as an accessory to murder, accused of acting as the driver. The Vidalia Police Chief said Brown and McMorris were known to each other; the motive had not been determined.

If anyone witnessed the shooting or has information about Brown, McMorris, or Jefferson, please share what is known.