Tony Terrell Bonds, age 44, was killed in Nashville, Tennessee, on the night of September 5, 2020. A resident of the Edgehill neighborhood, he was with a female friend late that night walking toward an apartment building when a sudden confrontation erupted between Bonds and another individual. Around or shortly after midnight on the 1100 block of Horton Avenue, someone shot Bonds in the head and then drove a vehicle over him, leaving him mortally wounded.
Despite efforts to save him, Bonds died from his injuries that night, and his death was later connected to gun violence in the community.
The initial moments leading up to that tragic encounter remain somewhat unclear, with police describing a brief altercation preceding the shooting and vehicular assault. Neighbors reported hearing the blast and seeing the horrific aftermath in the quiet residential area of Edgehill, prompting a rapid law enforcement response. Investigators from the Metro Nashville Police Department’s Midtown Hills Precinct, including the TITANS unit focused on neighborhood shootings, cordoned off the scene and began gathering evidence and witness statements amidst the shock of those who lived nearby.
In the months that followed, police worked to identify a suspect. Their efforts culminated in an arrest in early April 2021, when 33-year-old Mario Deshon Murray was taken into custody without incident at a market near Interstate 24 just north of downtown Nashville. He was indicted by a Davidson County grand jury and charged with first-degree murder in connection with Bonds’s death. Investigators allege that Murray shot Bonds during the altercation and then ran over him with a vehicle, actions that led to the fatal injuries.
The case proceeded through the Tennessee criminal justice system, with court records indicating ongoing legal activity, including appellate filings related to the matter. While details of trial outcomes or sentencing specific to the murder charge were not readily available in public summaries, the indictment and arrest marked significant steps toward accountability in Bonds’s death. Prosecutors and police continued seeking additional evidence and witness cooperation to build a comprehensive case as the legal process unfolded.
Friends and community members remembered Bonds through memorials and tributes, recalling him as a loyal and giving individual whose life was cut short. Candlelight vigils and online memorials highlighted the impact of his loss on those closest to him, underscoring the broader human toll of the violence that swept through that stretch of Nashville that night.
