Rodney Armstrong was 29 when he was killed during a backyard pool party on Maylon Drive in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. On July 9, 2020, an argument at the gathering escalated and Armstrong was shot twice. EMS took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators identified the shooting as the result of a disagreement between Armstrong and another person at the party.

A 21-year-old, Zolan Miles, fled the scene along with five other witnesses but turned himself in to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office soon afterward. Miles was interviewed by Murfreesboro detectives and charged with second-degree murder; he was held on a $450,000 bond. In May 2021 Miles entered a guilty plea and was released on bond while awaiting sentencing scheduled for July 8, 2021; the case experienced some delays after that date.

Armstrong’s mother, Rafiah Muhammed-McCormick, started Rodney’s Village, a nonprofit supporting teenage parents and stable homes for young children, and has been active in anti-gun-violence advocacy with groups including Mothers Over Murder. Did anyone at the July 9, 2020 gathering or in the Murfreesboro area have information that could shed more light on that night?