Demore Debose, 29, a Black male, was killed late on Thanksgiving night, November 24, 2022, after a chaotic gunfight erupted outside the Tiger Truck Stop along Interstate 10 in Grosse Tête, Louisiana. What began as an argument in the parking lot turned into a sudden barrage of gunfire that sent customers inside the store scrambling for cover as bullets struck the building, shattered windows, and peppered vehicles nearby.
Investigators said two men hit in the exchange were brothers.
Demore was gravely wounded and later pronounced dead, while his brother survived his injuries and was taken for treatment. Deputies spent hours closing off the scene, collecting shell casings, and interviewing witnesses as the scope of the shootout became clearer; authorities said as many as dozens of rounds were fired in a matter of moments.
In the days that followed, the case widened into multiple arrests tied to the same burst of violence. Demore’s surviving brother, Freddie Debose, was arrested and booked on charges that included second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, illegal use of a weapon, and aggravated criminal damage to property. Law enforcement’s working theory was that the brothers fired first, and that the third man involved returned fire during the confrontation.
That third participant was identified as Timothy Washington, 42. Deputies said he fled the area overnight into neighboring Pointe Coupee Parish, where a multi-agency effort located him at an apartment in Livonia and took him into custody. Reports at the time described Washington being arrested in connection with the shooting and facing at least a felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm charge, while officials publicly weighed whether additional charges—up to and including murder—would be pursued or whether the fatal shots would ultimately be considered self-defense, a decision expected to involve review with the district attorney’s office.
As the investigation unfolded, authorities also noted Washington’s recent history in the criminal courts, including earlier arrests on drug and gun allegations and a failure to appear for arraignment that led to a bench warrant before the truck-stop gunfight ever happened. Against that backdrop, the Thanksgiving-night exchange at the Tiger Truck Stop left a lasting imprint on the small community: a young father and son lost, a family split by arrests and accusations, and a case shaped as much by what happened in those frantic seconds of gunfire as by what prosecutors would later decide it meant.
