White / Caucasian male Zachariah Hobbs, 43, died on January 15, 2025, in Fairbanks, Alaska, after he was shot outside the Midnite Mine bar where he worked. Police said the shooting happened around 3:15 a.m. in the parking lot; medics pronounced him dead at the scene. A memorial obituary later described the father of five as an exuberant, outgoing presence rooted in the Fairbanks community.
According to police statements and court filings reported by local and national outlets, the night's violence was preceded by months of tension involving a female coworker. In November 2024, Hobbs had removed 21-year-old patron Derrick Dewayne McCormick Jr. from the bar after complaints that he harassed the coworker; police said McCormick threatened at that time to return with a firearm. Days before the killing, the coworker encountered McCormick at another restaurant, felt unnerved by his attention, and left as he allegedly followed her toward her car.
On the morning of January 15, security video captured a man matching McCormick's description lingering in the lot and repeatedly moving near the coworker's vehicle before an altercation unfolded with the 43-year-old employee and the fatal shot was fired, investigators said. Moments later, a man called 911 about the shooting but gave dispatchers false details about his name, birth date, phone number, and location; dispatch tracked the caller's position and officers detained McCormick nearby, according to police.
Fairbanks police arrested McCormick on first-degree murder and other charges. A judge ordered him held on a $2 million bond as the case moved forward; reporting noted that police records and surveillance images underpinned the probable-cause narrative filed with the court. Meanwhile, friends and family organized support for Hobbs's five children and remembered the 43-year-old bartender and entrepreneur for his protective spirit and work ethic.
Public incident trackers and memorial pages recorded the death and identified the location as the Midnite Mine on Wendell Avenue in downtown Fairbanks. These entries, along with local coverage and an obituary in the Daily News-Miner via Legacy, anchored the timeline of events and the community's response in the days after the killing.
