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).

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.

Witnesses reported that the shooter walked inside the event hall and began firing his weapon indiscriminately at people and reloading his firearm several times as he carried out his attack of
the people at the event. They were able to identify the suspect by the clothing he wore at the time of the shooting and describe his vehicle.

Canton police were able to stop Smith’s vehicle as he was driving away from the scene, and they arrested him. Investigators said the shell casings found at the crime scene were consistent with the gun and bullets found in Smith’s truck at the time of his arrest.

According to Bramlett, Smith was a stranger to the family members present and had no known ties to any of the families at the reunion or even the Canton area.