A quiet neighborhood in Muskogee, Oklahoma, was the scene of a horrific crime on February 2, 2021, a day that ended in the tragic death of 9-year-old Que’dynce Anton Lamark Anderson. The young male was one of six people, including four other children, who lost their lives in a mass shooting inside a home. The devastating event sent shockwaves through the community, leaving friends and family to grapple with an unimaginable loss.
Early that Tuesday morning, around 1:30 a.m., Muskogee
police responded to a call of multiple gunshots at a residence. Upon arrival, officers encountered a man holding a firearm. An officer fired at the suspect, but missed, and the individual fled on foot. After a brief chase, the suspect was taken into custody. Inside the home, law enforcement discovered a gruesome scene where one man and four children were deceased. A fifth child and a woman, the mother of the children, were rushed to a Tulsa hospital with critical injuries. Sadly, the fifth child later succumbed to his injuries. The victims were identified as Javarion Lee, 24, Jalaiya Pridgeon, 1, Jaidus Pridgeon, 3, Harmony Anderson, 5, Neveah Pridgeon, 6 and Que'dynce Anderson, 9.
The man taken into custody was identified as 25-year-old Jarron Deajon Pridgeon. He was subsequently charged with six counts of first-degree murder, shooting with intent to kill, and possession of a firearm during probation. Investigators revealed that Pridgeon was the brother of one of the adult victims, Javarion Lee, and the father of three of the children who were killed. The children's mother, Brittany Anderson, was wounded in the shooting but survived.
The motive for the senseless act of violence was not immediately clear to investigators, as Pridgeon chose not to cooperate with the police following his arrest. The family had only recently moved into the home, and neighbors recalled seeing the children playing outside. The loss of Que’dynce and the other victims left a profound sense of grief and disbelief within the Muskogee community, as they mourned the lives of five innocent children and a young man, all taken in a single, brutal act.
