On December 24, 2018, 35-year-old Richard Helom Jr., a Black man and father of four who lived in Nashville, Tennessee, was fatally shot at the Chosen Juan Hair Studio on Buchanan Street in Jackson, Mississippi. He had returned to Jackson to spend Christmas with family after missing Thanksgiving. The shooting happened about 11:30 a.m. after a verbal altercation escalated into violence.

Witnesses said the dispute involved another man later identified as Don Brown, described by some by the nickname Red and as a light-complexioned Black male about six feet tall who left the scene in a dark-colored four-door sedan. Brown, 34, voluntarily surrendered to authorities the evening of December 25 and was charged with murder; he awaited his initial court appearance. Helom’s family arranged funeral services for early January and spoke of their devastation; his father criticized the $200,000 bond set for Brown.

Does anyone have information about the altercation at the salon or about witnesses who were there that morning?