A Dollar General manager was fatally shot in an alleged altercation involving hamburger buns. The accused shooter was later killed while exchanging gunfire with local law enforcement.
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Alexis Hill, a 44-year-old mother of three, was ringing up a customer around 10:00 AM at a Dollar General store in Columbus, Georgia, for a package of hamburger buns totaling $1.58, WKRC reported.
Jerome Marquis Willis, 33, pulled out a gun and shot her as she uncrumpled a pair of balled-up dollar bills she was given, WTVM reported, citing the Muscogee County Coroner's Office.
Police said Willis fled the scene, and Hill was pronounced dead around 10:45 a.m.
"She'd make you laugh. She loved that job, and she worked her entire butt off for that job," Hill's friend told WTVM.
Hill was a mother to three boys and a grandmother of two, whom her family says "can't be replaced."
Family Creates Fundraiser For Alexis Hill
"Our family is devastated. Alexis touched many lives with her kindness, generosity, and spirit. We want to come together to celebrate her life and support her estate during this difficult time," her brother Jonathan wrote on a GoFundMe created by the family.
The fundraiser has raised over $22,000, and Jonathan wrote that all donations will "go directly toward covering the costs of her memorial service, burial, and travel for her next of kin."
"She can't be replaced," Jonathan said, according to WKRC. "It's a loss that I'm going to have to deal with. And the family is going to have to deal with."
The Dollar General franchise also expressed condolences to the Hill family.
"We are deeply saddened over the tragic loss of our Columbus store manager," Dollar General said in an emailed statement to Supermarket News. "Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with our employee's family and friends during this difficult time. The store is closed until further notice. Grief counselors will be available for area employees."
The spokesperson also noted that Dollar General is "cooperating with local authorities investigating this crime."
After he fled the convenience store, police found Willis in a nearby parking lot. Columbus police gave him "verbal commands," with which he "did not comply," according to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
CPD officers sent a K-9 to apprehend Willis, who shot the dog before aiming at the police. Columbus police returned fire and reportedly struck the shooter multiple times. One officer and the K-9 suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the shootout.
