In the early evening of June 7, 2021, Michael Dominick McAllister Jr., a 30-year-old Black / African American male, was seated in the front passenger seat of a 2009 Dodge Challenger in Gaffney, South Carolina. The vehicle was near the intersection of Greenway Drive and Woodlawn Drive when a single gunshot tragically cut his life short. The bullet struck McAllister in the head.
Despite being rushed to Spartanburg Medical Center for emergency medical attention, he succumbed to the severe injury in the early hours of the next morning, June 8, 2021.
The investigation into the shooting quickly led Gaffney police to a suspect, 28-year-old Zevonta Queon Shands. The Dodge Challenger in which McAllister was a passenger belonged to Shands, who resided in the neighborhood where the fatal shooting occurred. Following the incident, Shands reportedly ran to his nearby home while still in possession of a weapon. He later surrendered to law enforcement without incident.
Authorities obtained a search warrant for Shands' residence. The search uncovered a plastic bag containing a green leafy substance, another bag with a white powdery substance, a spent. 45 caliber shell casing, and a box of. 45 caliber ammunition. Zevonta Queon Shands was arrested and faced charges of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He was subsequently held at the Cherokee County Detention Center without bond. The Cherokee County Coroner's Office and the Gaffney Police Department continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding McAllister's death, though a motive for the shooting was not immediately made public.
