A 26-year-old woman was shot and killed early Sunday morning in Uniontown, and a suspect has been arrested and charged with manslaughter, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation launched a death investigation on Sunday, March 29, at the request of the Uniontown Police Department. Officers responded to a call at approximately 1:09 a.m. regarding a shooting in the 200 block of Water Avenue in Uniontown.
Upon arrival, officers found Erika Latavia Latham, 26, of Reform, had been struck by gunfire. She was pronounced deceased at the scene.
During the course of the investigation, Deandre Brandell Langhorne, 33, of Uniontown, was arrested and officially charged with manslaughter on Monday, March 30.
Court records show Langhorne has a criminal history across multiple west Alabama counties dating to 2012, including prior charges of assault in the first degree, discharging a firearm into an occupied building, and illegal possession or sale of a firearm.
Latham is the daughter of Eric and April Latham of Reform and the sister of University of Alabama football player Jah-Marian Latham.
“To all my family and friends I’m truly grateful for all yall. I appreciate all the text and calls — we holding on and not letting go. We gone be strong for my baby,” Eric Latham wrote on Facebook on Saturday evening. The post drew nearly 600 reactions and 174 comments.
Witnesses who were present at the time of the shooting described the incident as unprovoked. According to social media accounts from individuals who say they were at the scene, Latham and others had been attending a gathering nearby and were walking to their vehicle when a confrontation occurred. One witness who said she was present when Latham was shot wrote that Latham was “minding her own business” and was an “innocent target.”
The shooting prompted an outpouring of grief across social media, with posts about the incident shared hundreds of times across Perry County and west Alabama.
The investigation involved the 4th Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, the Perry County Sheriff’s Office, and the Uniontown Police Department. The investigation remains ongoing.
The killing comes amid persistent concerns about violence in Uniontown. The Uniontown Civic League has scheduled a Stop the Violence Rally for Monday, April 13, at 6:00 p.m. at the Uniontown Recreation Center. The event, which was planned prior to Latham’s death, is free and open to the public. Organizers are inviting the community to join for peace, food, and unity.
