In the quiet of a Tuesday night in Rock Hill, South Carolina, a burst of gunfire shattered the peace on Gist Road. On April 26, 2022, 16-year-old O'Marian Lee Small, a male, was sitting in the driver's seat of a parked car with at least one other person when the vehicle was suddenly ambushed. Two other teenagers, Kam'ran Brevard, 16, and Evanta Hart, 17, approached the car and opened fire.
In the ensuing chaos, O'Marian was struck by the gunfire and died inside the vehicle.
The incident quickly escalated into a triple homicide. A passenger in the car with O'Marian, 17-year-old Ahmik Coleman, was wounded in the hand but managed to return fire, hitting both Brevard and Hart. According to police, what happened next was a brutal escalation of the violence. After the initial exchange, Coleman allegedly fled the scene, only to return and shoot the two wounded teenagers again as they lay in the street, killing them. When authorities arrived, they found a grim scene with three young lives lost.
The investigation into the complex and tragic shootout led to several arrests. Ahmik Coleman was taken into custody after being treated for his gunshot wound and was charged as an adult with two counts of murder for the deaths of Brevard and Hart. The investigation further revealed that a 16-year-old female had allegedly driven Brevard and Hart to the location that night; she was subsequently arrested and also faced a murder charge. Months later, in June 2022, the investigation into O'Marian's death specifically led to another arrest. Police identified 21-year-old Chris'tavious Caldwell as a suspect, and he was arrested and charged with the murder of O'Marian Small. The series of events highlighted a violent dispute between two groups that culminated in a devastating loss for the community.
