Michael Tomario Pruitt, 44, was shot on the evening of July 29, 2021, in the 100 block of North 17th Avenue in Laurel, Mississippi. He was found with a gunshot wound, taken to a local hospital, and died of his injuries.

Within days, law enforcement arrested two people in connection with the killing: an adult man and a 13-year-old juvenile. Both were charged with capital murder, and a Jones County judge denied bond for each, leaving them held without bond as the case moved into the courts.

The community was left coping with the sudden, violent loss of Pruitt. If anyone has information about what happened that night or knew Pruitt, please come forward to assist the ongoing legal process.