Jermaine McDonald was a 14-year-old Black male whose life was cut short by gunfire in Jackson, Mississippi.
On the evening of Sunday, May 28, 2023, Jermaine was a passenger in a car on McDowell Road. According to Jackson’s interim police chief, the teen had just left the Pine Ridge Gardens Apartments when an assailant opened fire on the vehicle. Jermaine was struck by the gunfire and rushed to a hospital for treatment.
He fought for his life for six days before succumbing to his injuries on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
Investigators with the Jackson Police Department identified a suspect in the fatal shooting. Interim Police Chief Joseph Wade publicly named 31-year-old Brandon Pugh as the man wanted for Jermaine's murder. Authorities believe Pugh fled the area after the incident, prompting a search for the fugitive.
By early July 2023, the manhunt had led authorities to Leake County. The Leake County Sheriff's Office reported that Pugh had been spotted near the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, where he was believed to have brandished a firearm. Officials issued a public warning, describing Pugh as armed and extremely dangerous. As of July 2023, the case remains unsolved, and Brandon Pugh is still at large. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 601-355-TIPS.
