Police issued a murder warrant for a LaGrange man who allegedly shot and killed another man in front of several witnesses Tuesday night.

Officers who responded to the shooting about 10:15 p.m. found Raymond Parker lying in front of a residence at 310 Dix St.

Parker, 24, of 324 Daniel St. had been shot once toward the back right of the head with an unknown caliber weapon. He was pronounced dead at 11:06 p.m. at West Georgia Medical Center.

Police identified a suspect, Willie “Bubba” Gates, 24, of 401 Revis St., who was last seen leaving the 400 block of Revis Street in a black Chevrolet Camaro.

Warrants were issued charging Gates with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Police Sgt. Mark Cavender said there had been a physical altercation earlier that night among a large group of people in the 300 block of Dix Street and police broke up the disturbance. Cavender said he was told Gates used a path that leads toward the suspect’s residence one block away and returned 15 to 40 minutes later with a firearm, shooting Parker once in the head.

“There were numerous witnesses to the shooting,” Cavender said. “We’re trying to gather up witnesses and get them interviewed.”

Troup County Coroner Jeff Cook said the said the body was taken to the GBI crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy.

Joel Martin can be reached at jmartin@lagrangenews. com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 235.