MADISON COUNTY, Miss. ( WJTV ) – A man pled guilty in connection to a fatal shooting during a family reunion in Canton.
Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced that George Alton Smith, 32, pled guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated assault charges in Madison County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to serve 40 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC).
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The shooing occurred at the Anderson Masonic Lodge on June 25, 2023. When Canton police arrived at the location, they discovered Jordan Deere had been shot and killed. Daryl Dortch, Densie Page, and James Williams had also been shot and were injured. Dortch was airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson for treatment. He died from complications from his injuries on February 14, 2024.
At the time of the shooting, police said there was a large group of men, women, and children inside the event hall for the third day of a weekend-long family reunion. They said many of the attendees were able to escape the gunfire by running out of the building to a residential neighborhood behind the lodge.