Marcus Antwon Hammond, a 35-year-old Black man from Ripley, Tennessee, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of May 20, 2021. The shooting occurred in the 90 block of Sunset Drive; emergency responders took Hammond to a local hospital where he later died of his injuries.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Ripley Police Department, the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office and the Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency worked together on the case and identified a suspect. Kenneth Taylor, a Ripley resident, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and booked into the Lauderdale County Jail. Authorities have not released a motive for the shooting.

If anyone witnessed activity on Sunset Drive the night of May 20, 2021, or has information about Hammond or the events that led to the shooting, please come forward to investigators.