On a Sunday afternoon, the life of 28-year-old Christopher Lee was cut short in a violent encounter at a Jasco gas station on West Woodrow Wilson Avenue in Jackson, Mississippi. The male victim was inside the gas station around noon on February 7, 2021, when he was ambushed by three men. A barrage of gunfire erupted, and Lee was shot multiple times. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
During the deadly altercation, Lee managed to return fire, striking one of his assailants, 33-year-old Justin Partee, multiple times. Following the shootout, the other two suspects transported Partee to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries. The Jackson Police Department recovered two firearms and some drugs from the crime scene.
The investigation into what police described as a premeditated, ambush-style attack led to the arrest of two suspects: 25-year-old Aaron Hudson and 25-year-old Christopher Barber. Both men were subsequently charged with murder.
The incident added to the growing concern over violence in the city. A local city councilman, Kenneth Stokes, revealed he had known Lee, who was known in the neighborhood as 'Buddy,' since he was a child. Stokes shared the tragic detail that Lee's own mother had also been killed by gun violence years earlier, marking a devastating cycle of violence for the family.
