On the evening of April 19, 2020, a senseless act of violence cut short the life of 22-year-old Jeremiah Smith, an African American male, in the parking lot of a Walmart in Stonecrest, Georgia. Smith, a business management student at Clayton State University, was with his girlfriend and a friend, simply getting items for dinner. The tragic events began inside the store when a man repeatedly harassed Smith's girlfriend, asking for her phone number. Smith stepped in to defend her, at which point the aggressor flashed a handgun.
Thinking the confrontation was over, Smith and his girlfriend proceeded to the self-checkout and then exited the store. However, the assailant followed them into the parking lot. As Smith and his girlfriend were walking to their friend's car, the man shot Smith in the back of the head. Jeremiah Smith was rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. His loved ones remembered him as a loving and joyful person who was an inspiration to his siblings.
In the months following the shooting, the Stonecrest community and Smith's family lived in fear as the killer remained at large. DeKalb County police released surveillance images of the suspects to the public in an effort to identify them. A break in the case came when 26-year-old Delon Hooks was arrested in Miami on unrelated charges of human trafficking and prostitution. Hooks was subsequently identified as the primary suspect in Jeremiah Smith's murder and was awaiting extradition to DeKalb County to face charges for the shooting. The arrest brought a measure of relief to Smith's grieving family, who had been anxiously awaiting justice.
