Melissa Turner was 39 and a fashion entrepreneur in Jackson, Mississippi, when she was shot on August 20, 2021. Turner had founded a clothing brand for full-figured women called Modishlife, often modeling her own designs and running local pop-up shops to promote her business.

On that Friday at about 1 p.m. she was in her car with her 16-year-old son, stopped at a traffic light at Woodrow Wilson Avenue and West Street, when she was struck by a bullet in the shoulder. Her son was not physically injured. Turner was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she died from her wounds.

The Jackson Police Department identified and located a suspect within a day; a woman named Charity Barnes was arrested at the North Village Apartments in connection with the shooting. Police did not release a motive, and the investigation was described as ongoing. The community and her family have been left seeking answers and justice.

Did anyone in Jackson see the shooting or have information about Turner’s movements that afternoon?