In the late hours of a Saturday in Meridian, Mississippi, a family gathering turned into a scene of tragedy, forever altering the lives of those present. Almond Turner, a respected 69-year-old retired assistant police chief from Covington, Georgia, was fatally shot on November 23, 2019, while attending a birthday party with his relatives. The celebration was being held at the 1st and 10 Lounge, a local event hall.
The evening took a dark turn when Turner's nephew, Christopher O. Denson, who was 41 at the time, left the party and went to his vehicle. He returned to the gathering armed with an AK-47 rifle and opened fire, discharging five or six shots. Turner was struck in the head and chest, and succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, and there were no reports of an argument preceding the incident. After the shooting, Denson's brother and another family member managed to wrestle the firearm away from him. Denson fled before law enforcement arrived.
The day after the fatal shooting, Christopher Denson was arrested at his apartment in Meridian without incident. He was subsequently charged with murder, and his bond was set at $1 million. In June 2022, Denson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. A judge sentenced him to a total of 50 years in prison. He received a 40-year sentence for the murder charge, to be served without the possibility of parole as a habitual offender, and an additional 10 years for the firearm charge, with the sentences to be served consecutively. The case, which had been slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, concluded with his plea, though a clear motive for his actions was never publicly established.
