A late summer night at the Finish Line Drag Strip in the Lucas community near Prentiss, Mississippi, ended in deadly violence shortly after 11 p.m. on August 17, 2025. Deputies found 17-year-old Gavin Fortenberry of Bassfield mortally wounded by a gunshot to the head; he was a recent high school graduate who had trained at Camp Shelby and was preparing to join the Air Force. Four other people, three men and a woman, were injured and expected to recover.

Surveillance footage from the racetrack became a key piece of evidence, with investigators reporting a group of eight people moving together through the venue just before the shooting and saying the suspects were known to be affiliated with a gang. Within weeks multiple arrests followed: Breyden Herron and Samuel Martin surrendered and were charged with murder; Kendarrius Washington, Javontae Williams, and Jayden Williams were apprehended by the U.S. Marshal Service (Washington and Javontae Williams later charged with aggravated assault); Javius Mikell was arrested in Texas on drug charges, extradited and charged with Fortenberry’s murder as well as a separate earlier homicide in Prentiss; and Gregory Harris was charged with murder. Authorities said at least one suspect remained at large.

Anyone who was at the racetrack that night or who has information about the group seen on surveillance is asked to come forward.