On September 29, 2020, 25-year-old Keontae Deshaun McCants was shot on Lyric Street in Prichard and later died at a local hospital. Authorities charged Sidney Zireef Burke in connection with McCants’ killing; the motive was not immediately released.

McCants’ death touched off a rapid and violent cycle of retaliation. That same day, 62-year-old Martha McGinsey was shot and killed in her home on Roderick Road in Mobile; investigators believe she was an innocent victim targeted in direct retaliation for Burke’s alleged role. Shots were also fired into the home of Burke’s father on Spruce Street, but no one was injured.

Surveillance video helped investigators identify suspects in McGinsey’s murder. Five men were arrested: relatives of Keontae McCants — Quinta Martize McCants, Antonio McCants, Laquonte McCants, and Darrin Miller — and a family friend, Darrion Johnson, on charges including murder and firing into an occupied building. Burke later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Keontae McCants’ shooting, and Quinta Martize McCants was found not guilty of murder after a ten-minute jury deliberation. The other charges in McGinsey’s death remain pending.

Did anyone in the area see or hear anything that night that could shed light on how events escalated so quickly?