In the summer of 2017, the life of 18-year-old Jeremiah 'Jerry' Pryor was tragically cut short in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. On the afternoon of August 9th, Pryor was at the Merrill Community Center, a place he frequented and where he had come to share some good news with a former teacher about his new job at McDonald's. An argument erupted between Pryor and another 18-year-old, Alexis Reed, in the parking lot of the community center.
The verbal altercation escalated with devastating speed.
Witnesses reported that Reed produced a firearm and shot Pryor once in the upper body. Despite his severe injury, Pryor managed to make his way inside the community center in a desperate attempt to find help. He was quickly transported to a local hospital, but his wound proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead at 2:38 p.m. The community was left in shock, remembering Pryor as an outgoing, funny, and caring young man who was just beginning to build his life.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Alexis Reed fled the scene on foot, disappearing before law enforcement arrived. Multiple witnesses identified her as the shooter, leading the Pine Bluff Police Department to issue a warrant for her arrest on a charge of first-degree murder. For several months, Reed remained a fugitive. However, the search for her came to an end on January 23, 2018, when U.S. Marshals located and apprehended her in Louisville, Kentucky. She was then extradited back to Arkansas to face the charges related to the death of Jeremiah Pryor.
