In the small town of Hurtsboro, Alabama, the evening of August 16, 2023, turned tragic, forever altering the lives of many. Petorey Naquan Varner, a 43-year-old Black male, found his life abruptly cut short on that Wednesday. The incident that led to his untimely death unfolded at the Dollar General located on Gregory Street. Varner was pronounced dead at 11:02 p.m., a victim of gun violence that shattered the community's sense of peace.
Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on April 16, 1980,
Varner was known to friends and family as 'P-Dot.' He spent his formative years in Columbus, Georgia, where he attended several schools before graduating from Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama. At an early age, he dedicated his life to Christ. At the time of his passing, he was employed as a cook at Auburn University through Amamark. His obituary remembers a man cherished by his mother, sister, brother, nephew, and a host of other relatives and friends.
In the wake of the fatal shooting, the Russell County Sheriff's Office launched a homicide investigation. Their efforts quickly led to an arrest. A 16-year-old juvenile was taken into custody and now faces a litany of serious charges. These include Capital Murder During the Commission of a Robbery and Capital Murder During the Commission of Shooting Into an Occupied Vehicle. The teenager was also charged with two counts of attempted murder and a weapons possession offense, indicating a violent and complex series of events that culminated in Varner's death. Following the incident, Varner’s body was transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for an autopsy to formally determine the cause of death.
