On a Sunday morning, October 6, 2019, the life of 18-year-old Oluwafemi Oyerinde, a Nigerian-born male, was tragically cut short in a burst of gunfire. Known to his friends and family as “Femi,” he was a freshman at Kennesaw State University with ambitions of studying mechanical engineering and one day joining the military. The violence erupted at the Stadium Village Apartments in Marietta, Georgia, an off-campus student housing complex located near the university's football stadium.
Oyerinde was with two friends, 18-year-olds Jarius Bonner and Khalil Bennett, in the parking lot when they were shot. Oyerinde suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the back, while his two friends were also wounded as they tried to flee.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a dispute between neighbors. The conflict had reportedly started two days earlier over a noise complaint. On the morning of the shooting, the verbal altercation reignited when Bonner challenged the downstairs neighbor, 22-year-old Kashman Rael Thomas, to a one-on-one fistfight. Instead of fists, Thomas pulled out a firearm and fired ten shots at the three young men as they ran away. Within hours of the shooting, Cobb County police secured a search warrant for Thomas's apartment, where they discovered over an ounce of marijuana. An arrest warrant was issued for Thomas, charging him with murder and multiple counts of aggravated assault and aggravated battery.
After eluding law enforcement for about ten days, a period during which the U.S. Marshals Service joined the search, Kashman Rael Thomas surrendered to authorities on October 15, 2019. He was taken into custody and held at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond. The community mourned the senseless loss of Oyerinde, with hundreds gathering for vigils to remember the recent high school graduate described as having a bubbly personality.
The legal process concluded when Kashman Thomas pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault, and illegal firearm possession. The prosecution had initially sought a 40-year sentence. However, the judge ultimately sentenced Thomas to 25 years, a combination of prison time and probation. He will be eligible for probation after serving 15 years in prison, with credit given for the time he had already served since his arrest. For the family of Femi Oyerinde, the sentence marked the end of a long and agonizing wait for justice for a life they felt was taken far too soon.
