In the early morning hours of Saturday, November 8, 2025, the life of 30-year-old Demetrious Wilkerson was cut short in a hail of gunfire at the Azalea Ridge Apartments on Boxwood Boulevard in Columbus, Georgia. Wilkerson was a passenger in a vehicle parked at the apartment complex when another car pulled alongside, and an assailant opened fire, striking him multiple times.
Emergency medical services were dispatched to the scene at approximately 3:32 a.m., but their efforts to resuscitate Wilkerson were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at 4:10 a.m.
The investigation into Wilkerson's death quickly pointed to 32-year-old Donald Fair as the primary suspect. Authorities believe the deadly shooting was an act of 'street justice'. Just hours before Wilkerson's death, Fair had reportedly been the victim of a shooting on Buena Vista Road, an incident he commented on via social media, sharing a picture of his bullet-damaged vehicle. Columbus Police Sergeant Robert Nicholas, the lead investigator, stated that while Fair initially did the 'right thing' by filing a police report after his vehicle was shot at, he then took matters into his own hands.
The events leading to the fatal encounter suggest a prior altercation between the two men. Investigators believe Wilkerson was the individual who had fired upon Fair's vehicle earlier. In an apparent act of retaliation, Fair allegedly sought out Wilkerson at the Azalea Ridge Apartments. There, he is accused of firing nine rounds into the car where Wilkerson was seated. Tragically, Fair's own two-year-old daughter and the child's mother were also in the vehicle with Wilkerson at the time of the shooting, though they survived the attack.
Following the shooting, a warrant was issued for Donald Fair's arrest on charges of murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He was taken into custody on November 10, 2025. During a preliminary hearing in Recorder's Court on November 13, 2025, Fair was denied bond. The case against him is ongoing as investigators continue to delve into the history between the two men.
