In the late evening of January 31, 2017, the community of Humboldt, Tennessee, was shaken by a violent act that claimed the life of William Vinson, a 27-year-old African American man. Vinson was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds in the 900 block of North 13th Avenue, and his death was quickly determined to be a homicide. Authorities believed that Vinson was specifically targeted in the attack. His death marked the first homicide in Humboldt in over two years, sending ripples of concern through the city.
The investigation into Vinson's murder uncovered a possible connection to another shooting that had occurred earlier the same day. Around 2:15 p.m. near West Side Grocery, a 24-year-old man named Mariquiaus Pettigrew was also the victim of a shooting. While police considered the possibility that the two incidents were related, and potentially gang-related, a definitive link in Vinson's case was not publicly established. Pettigrew survived his injuries and was later released from the hospital.
In the aftermath of the day's violence, the Humboldt Police Department identified 34-year-old Kenneth Marvin Price as a suspect in the shooting of Mariquiaus Pettigrew. Price was subsequently charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and unlawful possession of a weapon. At the time the information was released, Price was still at large and considered to be armed and dangerous. However, online sources have not provided any information regarding any arrests, suspects, charges, trials, or convictions specifically for the murder of William Vinson. The investigation into his death was ongoing as law enforcement appealed to the public for any information that could lead to the apprehension of those responsible. The community was left to mourn the loss of a young man while grappling with the unsettling reality of a life cut short by violence.
