A Christmas party for Zaxby’s employees in Columbus, Mississippi, on the night of December 21–22, 2017 ended in the death of 27-year-old Michael Garth. Shortly after midnight on December 22, Garth was found outside the Motel 6 on Highway 45 with gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene; his body was sent to Pearl for autopsy.

Witnesses said an attendee, Johnathan Lee Majors II, had been aggressive toward Garth throughout the party and that the confrontation continued into the motel parking lot, where a physical fight broke out and Majors shot Garth. Majors was located on January 9, 2018, in an abandoned house in Columbus and was charged with murder; a judge denied bond and a grand jury later indicted him on a first-degree murder charge.

If anyone who attended the party or saw activity around the Motel 6 that night has information, please come forward.