On the evening of Thursday, February 27, 2025, Orlando Demetrius Smoots Jr., 24, was shot in the 6300 block of Cherry Ridge Court West in Mobile, Alabama. Officers arrived after a report of a person shot at about 6:18 p.m.; Smoots was taken to a local hospital and later died of his injuries.

Smoots, known to family and friends as O.J., graduated from John L. Leflore High School in 2018 and attended Bishop State Community College and Auburn University of Montgomery. He was remembered by loved ones as kind-hearted and positive; family held a vigil and called for justice.

Police identified 19-year-old Damion Blackman as a suspect, located and questioned him, then arrested him on a manslaughter charge and booked him into the Mobile County Metro Jail. Court papers say an argument preceded the shooting and Blackman claimed he acted to protect his sister; a judge set bail at $30,000 with house arrest as a release condition.

If anyone witnessed the shooting or knew Smoots and has information that could help, please share what you know.