On a tragic Tuesday in February of 2020, the life of 25-year-old Derrick Gerod Marks, a Black male from Birmingham, Alabama, was abruptly cut short. The evening of February 25th found Marks at the Hunter Ridge Apartments in Irondale, where he had gone with the intention of playing video games with friends, an attempt to distract himself from the grief of losing his best friend just hours earlier.
Earlier that same day, Marks’s close friend, 21-year-old Delquan McNeily, was fatally shot
during an argument outside a barbershop in Center Point, a mere six miles away. Marks was among the mourners who gathered at the scene of his friend's death, grappling with the sudden loss. In a poignant social media post, he had written, "I know you forever with me until we meet again." Seeking solace and a change of scenery, he packed up his gaming console and made his way to the Irondale apartment complex. His mother had cautioned him to stay home, a plea that went unheeded when a phone call prompted him to leave.
Within fifteen minutes of his departure, tragedy struck a second time. Marks was discovered shot in a vehicle in the parking lot of the apartment complex. Investigators at the scene found approximately three dozen shell casings, suggesting a violent ambush. It is believed that he was not inside the vehicle when the shooting began. A bullet wound to his leg proved fatal, the projectile traveling to his heart. He was rushed to St. Vincent's East Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:13 p.m.
Marks's mother expressed her belief that her son may have been targeted by someone who knew he was carrying cash, as he had planned to play video games for money. Despite the proximity in time of the two fatal shootings, she did not believe the deaths of her son and his best friend were connected. In the aftermath of these devastating events, no information has been made publicly available regarding any arrests or the identification of any suspects in the killing of Derrick Gerod Marks. His death remains an unsolved homicide.
