Forty Year Sentence Handed to Man Who Shot Multiple and Killed Two at Masonic Lodge

George Alton Smith, age thirty two, has received a sentence with Mississippi Department of Corrections for shooting multiple people and killing two at the Anderson Masonic Lodge in 2023.

Smith will serve forty years day-for-day, without possibility of parole, in the custody of Mississippi Department of Corrections, according to Madison and Rankin Counties' District Attorney Bubba Bramlett. Smith pled guilty to charges of aggravated assault and second degree murder in Madison County Circuit Court.

George Alton SmithPhoto byMadison County Detention Center

The incident in question took place on June 25, 2023 at the Anderson Masonic Lodge. Canton Police Department officers were dispatched to the Lodge following a report of people being shot. When officers arrived on the scene, one individual, Jordan Deere, had been shot and killed. Three others, Densie Page, Daryl Dortch, and James Williams were also injured from the gunfire. Dortch was transported via airlift to UMMC, and passed away from complications from the injuries on February 14, 2024.

The shooting took place duringthe final day of a three-day family reunion. Smith, according to Darkhorse Press, entered the event hall and opened fire, shooting indiscriminately at the attendees, reloading his weapon multiple times as he went. Many of those in the event hall were able to escape by fleeing through the back of the building and to a residential neighborhood behind the Masonic Lodge.

Smith had no familial ties to anyone at the reunion, nor did he appear to have a motive for his actions. He had no connections in the Canton area.

District Attorney Bramlett stated, "We may never know why George Smith walked into that building and began firing on innocent strangers. But, we will continue to pray for all of those affected due to the uncomprehensible violence at the hands of the defendant.”