On January 1, 2026, 19-year-old Caden Yarbrough was shot and killed at an outdoor New Year’s Eve gathering on Thomas Circle Street in Weir, Mississippi. The shooting occurred just before midnight after an argument; Yarbrough was taken to Choctaw Regional Medical Center where he died. He was a 2025 graduate of Choctaw County High School and was remembered by friends and community members as a loving, caring person who loved horses.

An arrest was made in the case. Kentavious Merritt, 24, of Attala County, was charged with second-degree murder and with possession and/or use of a machine gun conversion device, described as a switch believed to have been used to enhance the weapon. Merritt is being held in the Choctaw County Jail on a combined $1 million bond, with $500,000 set per charge.

Anyone who was at the gathering or who has information about the shooting is asked to come forward.