On Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, 23-year-old Derrick Ford Jr., a Black man, was shot around 12:45 p.m. in the 1800 block of Hill Street in Alexandria, Louisiana. Officers found Ford with life-threatening injuries; he was taken to a local hospital and did not survive.

That same evening a 21-year-old local man, Reginald Dwayne Pullins, turned himself in and was arrested on one count of second-degree murder. Pullins was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center with bail set at $1 million. Pullins claimed he shot Ford, a former friend, in self-defense; the shooting reportedly occurred in front of Pullins’ home and was captured by a home surveillance camera.

A contested legal fight followed over whether the defense could present evidence of Ford’s alleged prior acts and threatening texts sent within 72 hours of the shooting. The Louisiana Supreme Court later ruled those alleged actions could be admitted as an overt act for jurors to weigh. A new trial for Pullins was scheduled for August 10, 2026.

Did anyone in Alexandria know Ford or have information about his movements that day?