A holiday argument in Eutaw, Alabama, ended in gunfire and the death of 21-year-old Jaylen M. Carter on Christmas Day 2023. According to reports, Carter was shot multiple times in the Branch Heights community after an argument tied to a lost 9-millimeter handgun. That shooting was the only homicide recorded in Eutaw for 2023.

Investigators say the dispute involved 28-year-old Brandon Powell, who reportedly lost the firearm two months earlier during a fight at a club; Carter is alleged to have found and kept the gun. Powell was arrested and charged with capital murder and is being held in the Greene County jail. The Eutaw Police Department worked with the Demopolis Police Department, the 17th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation on the case.

The shooting heightened tensions locally, with threats reportedly made against two of Powell’s relatives who work at Eutaw City Hall; those threats prompted a temporary closure of City Hall while they were examined. If anyone in or around Branch Heights that night has information about what led to the confrontation, please share what was seen or heard.