Alexander Benitez-Hernandez, 23, was shot and killed on the evening of August 30, 2025, in the parking lot of the Marshalls at 1418 East Dixie Drive in Asheboro, North Carolina. A verbal altercation that began inside the store moved outside around 7:06 p.m., where both men reportedly pulled handguns and exchanged fire. Benitez-Hernandez shot the other man in the lower leg and then ran toward his vehicle; that man retrieved a .30–30 rifle from his truck and fired a single round that struck Benitez-Hernandez in the back. Officers and medical personnel could not save him and he was pronounced dead at the scene. An early statement that said Benitez-Hernandez had a chest wound was later corrected to reflect the wound to his back.

Investigators quickly identified the other participant as Branson Russell of Denton. Officers stopped a red Ford F-250 shortly after the shooting; Russell, the driver, had a gunshot wound to the leg and was taken to a hospital. A Randolph County grand jury returned a true bill of indictment for second-degree murder on September 8, 2025, and Russell was arrested the following day and jailed without bond.

Are there witnesses who were in the store or parking lot that evening who can clarify how the confrontation began or what each person was carrying?