Charquez Xavier Mercer was 25 when he was killed in Meridian, Mississippi, on the evening of October 23, 2020. Mercer, described as Black / African American, was found with multiple gunshot wounds at the intersection of 16th Avenue and 23rd Street; those injuries proved fatal.

Police located Mercer’s car at the scene and interviewed a juvenile who had been in the vehicle; the juvenile told investigators that 21-year-old Kenneth Barrett shot Mercer while they were in the car. Barrett was arrested and charged with murder. He gave several conflicting accounts to police, including that the shooting was accidental during a firearms exchange and an alternate version that described an ambush while driving. Investigators said those accounts did not match video evidence; Barrett also told police he had been using drugs that night, though law enforcement concluded his actions were not impaired. Barrett was already out on bond for an armed robbery charge, and a judge denied bond in the murder case.

Anyone who knew Mercer, was in the area that night, or has information about what happened is asked to come forward.