In the quiet community of Hobson City, Alabama, the life of 34-year-old Black / African American male Johnathan Austin Evans came to a tragic and violent end on January 8, 2014. On that Wednesday, Evans was discovered in the backyard of a residence on Council Avenue, having sustained a single, fatal gunshot wound to the head. His death was the final act in a devastating sequence of events that left another individual seriously injured and a community in shock.
Authorities determined that
Evans was the aggressor in the incident that preceded his death. It is believed that he shot his 22-year-old girlfriend, Kim Truong, twice before turning the gun on himself. Truong was transported to a local hospital and later transferred to UAB Hospital in Birmingham for treatment of her injuries. The motive for the shooting remained under investigation by the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office.
At the time of his death, Evans was on parole. He had been convicted of manslaughter in 1998 in connection with the 1996 shooting death of Christopher Jackson. Evans, who was originally charged with murder in that case, was released from prison on parole on January 7, 2010. His sentence was scheduled to end in 2015. As Evans was the sole individual involved in the violent encounter that led to his death, there were no other suspects, and no arrests were made in connection with the incident. Funeral services for Johnathan Evans were held on January 16, 2014, at Gaines Chapel AME Church, and he was laid to rest in Eden Hills Cemetery.
