On the evening of September 25, 2024, in Hixson, Tennessee, a domestic dispute escalated to a fatal conclusion, ending the life of 20-year-old Lataivus Keyon Moore. Known affectionately as 'Tay-Tay' to his loved ones, Moore was at his girlfriend's residence on Forest Dale Lane when the altercation occurred. Chattanooga police were dispatched to the home around 9:43 p.m. following a report of a shooting.
Upon their arrival, officers discovered Moore with a gunshot wound to his lower back. He was quickly transported to Erlanger Hospital, but his injury proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead. The investigation into the shooting pointed to his 22-year-old girlfriend, Alaina Michell Stallings, as the person responsible for firing the weapon.
Stallings informed investigators that the couple had been in an argument that turned physical, stating that Moore had struck her in the face. She claimed that she then retrieved a handgun with the intention of making him leave the residence. According to her account, as Moore was attempting to exit through the front door, she fired the gun. Evidence from a home security system captured the heated argument in the living room. The footage showed Stallings holding a firearm and telling Moore to leave. It then showed Moore striking Stallings before he turned to run out of the house, at which point Stallings fired a single shot.
Following an analysis of the evidence, including the recovery of a single shell casing at the scene, investigators determined that the shooting did not constitute an act of self-defense. Consequently, Alaina Michell Stallings was taken into custody and has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Lataivus Moore. Moore, a 2022 graduate of Brainerd High School who worked at Wrigley's and Volkswagen, had recently become a father.
