DAnte Washington, a 23-year-old Black man from Bay St. Louis known by his rap name Tae Spitta, was shot during an armed robbery at Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Washington Street on the evening of June 6, 2018. He was taken to a local hospital and flown elsewhere for advanced care after suffering a gunshot wound to the head, but he later died. He was a father to a one-year-old son, Da'Montae, and his family authorized organ donation.

The Bay St. Louis Police Department identified two suspects: 18-year-old Armon Joseph Crawford of Gulfport and 19-year-old Xavier Lamar Simmons of D'Iberville. Warrants were issued charging both with murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault; Crawford was questioned shortly after the shooting and later turned himself in, and Simmons was identified as the shooter and taken into custody. DAnte’s mother, Twanna Washington, gave a victim impact statement at sentencing and the community used the hashtag #JusticeforD'Ante to call attention to the case and gun violence.

If anyone was at Martin Luther King Jr. Park that evening or has information about the robbery and shooting, please share what was seen or heard.