On the morning of August 22, 2025, a fatal shooting shattered the routine at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Tahj Johnson, a 27-year-old Black male from Prichard, Alabama, was shot and killed while working his shift aboard a U.S. Navy vessel that was under construction. The incident, which occurred around 7:30 a.m., prompted an immediate lockdown of the sprawling shipyard as law enforcement swarmed the facility to secure the thousands of employees and search for the person
responsible.
First responders discovered Johnson with multiple gunshot wounds, and the Jackson County coroner later confirmed his death. The investigation quickly zeroed in on a fellow employee, Curtis James Jr., a 25-year-old from Mobile, Alabama. Both Johnson and James worked as painters at the shipyard. Within approximately ninety minutes of the initial reports, authorities located and arrested James without incident.
Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a dispute between the two men that had reportedly occurred earlier in the week. Some reports indicated the conflict may have been over an alleged affair between Johnson and James's wife. Authorities in Mobile also began investigating James in connection with the death of his wife, who was found deceased at her residence earlier that same day.
Curtis James Jr. was charged with murder and booked into the Jackson County Adult Detention Center, where he was held without bond. Officials emphasized that the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident between the two coworkers and not a broader threat to the public or the shipyard. The tragic event left the community and fellow employees mourning the loss of Tahj Johnson, who was described as a social and family-oriented man.
