Brandon Christopher Thornton was 17 and a Grissom High School student when he was shot at his aunt’s home on Marina Drive in south Huntsville on the evening of January 15, 2018. He was taken to a hospital and died of severe head trauma on January 17, 2018.

Police identified a suspect quickly. A 16-year-old male named Jeremiah Pruitt was arrested and charged with Thornton’s murder. At a February 2018 preliminary hearing a Huntsville police investigator testified that Pruitt had admitted to the shooting, saying it followed an argument between Thornton and Pruitt while the two and another friend were at the residence. The investigator testified Pruitt retrieved a firearm from a drawer and shot Thornton.

If anyone knew Brandon, was at that Marina Drive residence that night, or has information about what happened, please come forward.