In the early evening of June 10, 2021, the Pine Bluff Police Department responded to a call of a shooting at an apartment complex located at 2200 S. Hazel. Upon their arrival at approximately 9:08 p.m., they discovered the body of 43-year-old Kevin Brazell in the parking lot. He had sustained apparent gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
His death marked the 12th homicide in the city of Pine Bluff for that year.
The authorities present at the scene swiftly took a suspect into custody. Vincent Peal, who was 48 years old at the time, was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting. Following his arrest, detectives questioned Peal, and he was subsequently booked into the Jefferson County Jail. The charge brought against him was first-degree murder.
The death of Kevin Brazell was part of a deeply troubling string of violence that had gripped the Pine Bluff community. In the week his death occurred, it was the fourth homicide the city had experienced. This series of tragic events prompted local faith leaders to place crosses throughout the city as a memorial to the victims and to bring attention to the urgent need to address the escalating violence.
