Three Troy University students have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a fellow student at an apartment complex just off campus, Troy police announced, bringing the first charges in a case that has shaken the small Alabama college town. Two of the students face murder charges, while a third faces drug charges, after 21-year-old freshman Carlique Miller was found shot on the night of Thursday, October 29, 2026.
The arrests, announced on Saturday, October 31, and published on November 1, mark a major step in an investigation that began when officers were called to The Edge @ Troy apartments on Elm Street. Miller, a business entrepreneurship major from Dothan, Alabama, was found unresponsive with an apparent gunshot wound and could not be saved despite life-saving efforts at the scene.
According to a Troy Police Department release, officers responded to a report that someone may have been shot near the 600 block of Elm Street at 10:41 p.m. on Thursday, October 29. When they arrived at The Edge @ Troy apartments, they found Miller unresponsive with an apparent gunshot wound. Officers attempted life-saving measures, but those attempts were unsuccessful.
Witness accounts gathered by the university's student news outlet, TrojanVision, place the first disturbances outside building 400 of the complex at around 10:30 p.m. to 10:40 p.m. Residents described hearing a loud bang, followed by shouting in the parking lot area. Miller was found dead on the grass in front of the 400 building, according to student newspaper reporting.
"We heard a big bang outside and then some yelling," said Sydney Parker, a resident at the apartment complex, in an account published by TrojanVision. Another resident, Kairi Walker, said: "I heard gunshots, but, at the time, I didn't know they were gunshots. I just heard a loud pop."
Other witnesses described panic in the moments after the shooting, with people screaming that their friend had been shot, and one resident calling 911. Police taped off the parking lot where the shooting took place and questioned people on the first floors of the building and neighbouring buildings, witnesses said. A silver car was later towed from the scene.
Police initially said two people were in custody in connection with the case, before identifying three arrested students. The department has not publicly detailed what investigators believe each suspect's alleged role was, and the investigation remains active.
The three students arrested are all enrolled at Troy University, police said. Dejuane Lamar Washington, 20, of Gadsden, Alabama, and Keifer Jayden Walker, 18, of Montgomery, Alabama, are each charged with murder. Parker Hughes Thompson, 18, of Wetumpka, Alabama, is charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Washington and Walker are being held without bond pending an Aniah's Law hearing. Aniah's Law is an Alabama constitutional amendment that allows judges to deny pre-trial bail for people charged with violent crimes. Thompson is held on a $1,500 bond for the possession charge and a $5,000 bond for the conspiracy charge.
All three were booked into the Pike County Jail, according to the student newspaper The Tropolitan. Troy University said in a statement that all three students have been suspended from the university and barred from campus.
It is important to stress that charges are allegations, not convictions. The students are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court, and no court dates or plea details had been publicly released at the time the arrests were announced.
Miller was a 21-year-old freshman from Dothan, a city about 50 miles south-east of Troy, studying business entrepreneurship at Troy University. He was identified by police on Friday morning, October 30, after the university confirmed the victim was a student.
Troy University is a public university in Pike County, in south-east Alabama, with its main campus in the city of Troy. The Edge @ Troy is an apartment complex near campus where many students live, just off Elm Street. The shooting happened on a Thursday night, days before the Halloween weekend, and the arrests were announced as students were preparing for the final stretch of the autumn semester.
The case is being investigated by the Troy Police Department with assistance from several agencies, including the Troy University Police Department, the Pike County Sheriff's Office, the Pike County Coroner's Office, the Pike County District Attorney's Office and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. That multi-agency approach is standard for a fatal shooting investigation in which forensic evidence, witness statements and any surveillance video must be pieced together.
On Friday morning, Troy University's senior director of communications, Matt Clower, said in a statement that the shooting had not caused any active threat to campus safety. The university has not publicly released further details about Miller, and campus counselling and support services are typically made available to students after a death of this kind.
Deadly shootings involving college students, whether on campus or in nearby student housing, tend to draw intense attention because they strike at places families expect to be safe. They also raise difficult questions for universities about security in off-campus housing, late-night safety and how quickly information reaches students. In this case, the university moved quickly to confirm the victim was a student and to state that there was no ongoing threat, while police kept the details of the investigation limited as arrests were prepared.
Troy University's statement was brief but decisive: all three arrested students have been suspended and barred from campus. The university has not commented publicly on the specifics of the charges.
Residents of The Edge @ Troy described a frightening night. "We heard a big bang outside and then some yelling," Sydney Parker told TrojanVision. Kairi Walker recalled: "I heard gunshots, but, at the time, I didn't know they were gunshots. I just heard a loud pop."
Witnesses also told student reporters that people were screaming "my homeboy just got shot" in the aftermath, and that apartment employees were seen checking on residents and offering help. The complex itself declined to comment when contacted by TrojanVision.
Police have asked anyone with information to come forward. The Troy Police Department can be reached at (334) 566-0500, Crime Stoppers at 215-7867, or by email at police@troyal.gov.
The arrests matter for three reasons. First, they give Miller's family and the Troy University community the first official account of who police believe was involved in his death, after two days in which only the victim's name and the location were known. Second, the murder charges against two fellow students underline how close to home this violence was: the victim and the accused all attended the same university.
Third, the case will now move from a police investigation into the court system, where prosecutors must prove their case and where the Aniah's Law bail question will be decided for the two murder defendants. How that process unfolds, including whether additional charges follow, will shape how the community understands what happened on Elm Street that Thursday night.
For students and parents, the case is also a reminder of the risks that can exist in student housing areas late at night, and of the importance of reporting anything suspicious immediately. Police have repeatedly stressed that tips from the public can be decisive in cases like this one.
Washington and Walker will face Aniah's Law hearings, at which a judge will decide whether they remain held without bond. Thompson's drug charges will proceed separately, with bonds already set at $1,500 and $5,000.
Investigators say the investigation is still ongoing, which means further details, and potentially further charges, cannot be ruled out. Police are still asking witnesses and anyone with video from the area on the night of October 29 to contact them.
Troy University has not announced any memorial arrangements for Miller, and it is not yet known whether the university will hold a public vigil or service. The university's handling of the aftermath, and any further statements from Miller's family, will be closely watched in Troy and in his home city of Dothan.
Who was killed in the Troy shooting?
Carlique Miller, a 21-year-old freshman business entrepreneurship major from Dothan, Alabama, who attended Troy University.
Where and when did the shooting happen?
At The Edge @ Troy apartments near the 600 block of Elm Street in Troy, Alabama, on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at about 10:41 p.m., according to police.
Who has been arrested?
Dejuane Lamar Washington, 20, and Keifer Jayden Walker, 18, charged with murder; and Parker Hughes Thompson, 18, charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. All three are Troy University students.
Are the arrested students still enrolled?
No. Troy University said all three have been suspended and barred from campus.
How can people help the investigation?
Contact Troy Police at (334) 566-0500, Crime Stoppers at 215-7867, or email police@troyal.gov.
Read more on US News Pulse: James Comey's third criminal case, DOJ charges over illegal voting in five states, and the latest US news headlines.
Featured image: an original illustration of police vehicles and tape outside an apartment complex at night, branded with the US News Pulse logo. This is an illustrative image, not a photograph of the actual scene.
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