David LaVell Gilmore, 26, was shot once in the head in the parking lot of a Minute Mart at the intersection of Mississippi Highway 26 and U.S. Highway 11 in Poplarville on the evening of December 20, 2017, at about 9:10 p.m. He was taken to Pearl River County Hospital but died of his wound; the death was ruled a homicide.

Officers found the suspect still in the parking lot and took 19-year-old Aritaeus Antwann Johnson into custody without incident; he was booked on a charge of second-degree murder. The Poplarville Police Department, assisted by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office, conducted the investigation, and Gilmore’s body was sent to the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory for autopsy. His funeral service was held December 30, 2017, at Triumph Missionary Baptist Church and he was buried at Dave Monday Cemetery.

The motive for the shooting remains under investigation. If anyone knew David or witnessed the shooting that night, please share information that could help the case.