In the small city of Columbus, Mississippi, a promising young life was tragically cut short in the fall of 2017. Tovaris Lee Deloach, a 17-year-old male, passed away on November 1, 2017, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. His death was the result of a gunshot wound to the head, sustained the previous evening in what authorities described as a game of 'Russian Roulette'.
On the night of October 31, 2017, Columbus police were called to a residence on Poplar Street.
Witnesses at the scene informed officers that Deloach had been talking about the dangerous game and proceeded to put a single bullet into a gun. The first time he pulled the trigger, the gun did not fire. However, the second time he pulled the trigger, the weapon discharged, inflicting the fatal wound. Investigators stated that the forensic evidence collected at the scene supported the accounts provided by the witnesses.
In the hours following the tragic incident, tensions in the neighborhood escalated, leading to a retaliatory shooting early the next morning at a house next door to where Deloach was fatally injured. While no one was harmed in this subsequent event, it highlighted the profound impact of the teenager's death on the community. Law enforcement officials publicly released details of Deloach's self-inflicted shooting in the hopes of quelling any further acts of retaliatory violence.
Tovaris Deloach was born on May 10, 2000, to Tommie Lee Deloach Sr. and Sharon Ellis. He was a student at Columbus High School. His funeral services were held on November 11, 2017, at the Joe Cook Auditorium, with his burial following at Concord Church Cemetery. He was survived by his parents and numerous siblings. The community was left to mourn the loss of a young man whose life ended in a moment of reckless curiosity. No arrests were made in connection with Deloach's death, as it was determined to be a self-inflicted tragedy.
