On the evening of Sunday, March 31, 2024, a large Easter-related gathering in a parking lot behind a liquor store on Highway 85 in Woodbury, Georgia, turned violent when a fight erupted and multiple people began shooting. Jaylen Jamal McGruder, 22, of nearby Pine Mountain, was struck in the chest during the gunfire. Police and a Meriwether County deputy performed CPR until paramedics arrived; McGruder was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Thomaston and was later pronounced dead.

Born May 14, 2001, in Lagrange, McGruder was a father to a daughter and a son and a bonus father to two other children. Family and friends remember him as hardworking and good-hearted, with a mischievous laugh and a contagious smile. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was asked to lead the probe; as of early April 2024 the investigation remained active and no arrests had been announced.

Anyone who was at the gathering or has information about the shooting is urged to contact investigators.