Shortly before 4:00 a.m. on July 19, 2026, a group of people gathered near the Fry Daddy food truck on South Wilson Avenue in Prichard, Alabama, were fired on after three to four masked attackers exited a light-colored SUV. The shooting left 25-year-old Deonti Charly dead from multiple gunshot wounds; another man, Ken Reed, was wounded and drove himself to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators recovered about 25 spent shell casings at the scene and described the attack as targeted, believing Charly was the intended victim.

On July 21, 2026, Mobile County deputies arrested 20-year-old Ashton Tremichael Johnson-Whitfield and charged him with Charly’s murder. Authorities said Johnson-Whitfield was not thought to be the only shooter and that other suspects were being sought; Johnson-Whitfield maintained he did not know the victim when taken into custody.

Did anyone witness the moments before the SUV arrived or recognize the vehicle or assailants that night?