Zachariah Hobbs, 43, was shot and killed outside the Midnite Mine bar in Fairbanks, Alaska, in the early morning hours of January 15, 2025. Police say the shooting occurred around 3:15 a.m. in the parking lot; medics pronounced him dead at the scene. Hobbs worked at the bar and was described in an obituary as a father of five and an exuberant, outgoing presence in the community.

Investigators and court filings reported that months of tension preceded the killing, centered on a female coworker who had complained about 21-year-old patron Derrick Dewayne McCormick Jr. Hobbs removed McCormick from the bar in November 2024 after threats that McCormick would return with a firearm. Security video from the night of the shooting reportedly shows a man matching McCormick’s description lingering in the lot and approaching the coworker’s vehicle before an altercation with Hobbs and the fatal shot. A caller who later phoned 911 gave false personal and location details; dispatch tracked the call and officers detained McCormick nearby.

Fairbanks police arrested McCormick on first-degree murder and other charges and a judge ordered him held on $2 million bond. Friends and family organized support for Hobbs’s five children and remembered his protective spirit and work ethic.

Did anyone who knew Zachariah Hobbs or who was in downtown Fairbanks that night see something that could help investigators?