Deja Anthonyisha Davis, 29, was killed in a drive-by shooting on the evening of February 8, 2026, in the Maryland Heights subdivision of Natchez, Mississippi. She was sitting in a car with a male companion, Curtavius Knight, when a hail of bullets struck; Knight was seriously wounded and Davis died from her injuries.

Within days the Natchez Police Department arrested 17-year-old Daylon Pernell. Pernell was booked on second-degree murder for Davis’s death, attempted second-degree murder for Knight’s injuries, and additional counts of shooting into a vehicle and discharging a firearm within the city limits. An obituary confirmed Davis’s death and the community has been left mourning.

The investigation is ongoing and authorities have asked anyone with information to come forward. Does anyone in Natchez have information about the Maryland Heights shooting or saw anything that night?