A July afternoon in Lamar, Mississippi ended in a deadly exchange of gunfire that killed 37-year-old truck driver Tarvis McKell Shields of Slayden. The shooting happened July 5, 2022, at about 2 p.m. at the M&W Quick Stop on U.S. Highway 72 after an argument between Shields and 28-year-old Demarcus Pate began inside the convenience store and continued outside. Both men were struck; Shields was pronounced dead at the scene. Pate was airlifted in critical condition and later died of his wounds.

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office said investigators found no other suspects and determined the encounter was a spontaneous, mutual altercation involving only Shields and Pate. The case was closed with no arrests. Shields was a member of Hudsonville CME Church and was remembered by his community. Does anyone have information about either man’s movements that afternoon or who might have witnessed the argument inside the store?