On December 21, 2024, 19-year-old LaDaibrien Jevon Acker was fatally shot in the parking lot of a Circle K on Highway 90 in Waveland, Mississippi. Police were called at 1:33 a.m. and found Acker with gunshot wounds to his chest; he was taken to Ochsner Medical Center and later died. Acker, a Waveland resident and father of a four-month-old son, was described by his mother as an artist who quietly performed many acts of kindness. Family members emphasized he was unarmed during the incident.

A woman was also shot in the arm and later released from the hospital. Authorities arrested 22-year-old Robert George Sams Jr. of Kiln the same day; he was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault and booked into the Hancock County jail. Judge Preston J. Mauffray set bond at a total of $200,000, $150,000 on the murder charge and $50,000 on the aggravated assault charge, a decision that distressed Acker’s family who questioned the amount.

If anyone witnessed the early-morning altercation at the Circle K or has information about what happened, please share it with investigators.