In the late hours of August 5, 2007, the life of 18-year-old Doniesha 'Duck' Smallwood was tragically cut short in Columbia, South Carolina. A recent graduate of Ridgeview High School, the Black/African American teenager had her future ahead of her, with plans to study nursing at Midlands Technical College. On that fateful night, Doniesha was driving with friends on Crane Church Road after leaving a party.
As they drove, their vehicle was caught in a hail of gunfire.
Passengers in the car ducked down, and when the shooting stopped, they realized Doniesha had been struck. She had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head, and the car veered off the road. Her friends, who were unharmed, were left to grapple with the sudden and violent loss of Doniesha.
The investigation into her death quickly led to an arrest. A 13-year-old boy from Columbia was taken into custody and charged with her murder. Law enforcement officials stated that Doniesha's death was connected to gang-related violence. It was revealed that she had been a witness and was cooperating with investigators in the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy, which had occurred earlier that year.
While her family remembered her as a good student who was in the band and worked part-time, the sheriff's department asserted that she was directly affiliated with a gang. Her death was one of several killings in the Columbia area that investigators believed were interconnected and stemmed from gang rivalries. Doniesha's mother, Roeshell Conerson, mourned the loss of her daughter, describing her as a young woman with a promising future who was loved by many.
