On the night of Saturday, May 30, 2026, what began as a remembrance gathering in Tallassee, Alabama, ended in a deadly shooting behind a Jack’s restaurant on Gilmer Avenue. Thirty-three-year-old Ronderious Hooks was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the 200 block of Gilmer Avenue around 11:19 p.m. He was privately transported to Tallassee Community Hospital and later died; an autopsy showed at least six gunshot wounds to his chest, right arm, back, and legs. Another person was shot in the thigh and later treated and released at a Montgomery-area hospital.

Investigators focused on 31-year-old Jamario Butler of Tallassee. Butler was taken into custody the Wednesday after the shooting with assistance from the Montgomery Police Department SWAT team and was charged with murder, first-degree assault, and discharging a firearm into an unoccupied vehicle. A Tallassee police investigator later testified that Butler confessed to the crime.

Does anyone who was in Tallassee that night or who knew Ronderious have information that could help clarify what happened behind the restaurant?