In the early evening of December 12, 2019, the life of 21-year-old Terry C. Smith, a Black male, was tragically cut short on a street in Nashville, Tennessee. Neighbors in the vicinity of the Edgehill Apartments in the 1000 block of Edgehill Avenue reported hearing the sound of three or four gunshots ring out at approximately 7:30 p.m. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered Smith lying in the street, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound to his torso.
The investigation into
the death of Terry Smith, led by Metro Nashville Police, quickly determined that the shooting was not a random act of violence. Detectives from the Midtown Hills Precinct identified 26-year-old Xavier Holloway Jr. as the suspected gunman. Their investigation suggested that Holloway had intended to shoot another individual but missed his target, instead striking and killing Smith. Following this determination, arrest warrants were issued for Holloway, charging him with murder for the death of Terry Smith and attempted murder for his intended victim, who was not harmed in the incident.
In the wake of the shooting, Xavier Holloway Jr. fled the Nashville area, prompting a multi-state search. Information developed by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Nashville led authorities to Arkansas. On the evening of January 9, 2020, deputy U.S. Marshals located and apprehended Holloway in Pope County, between Clarksville and Russellville. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Pope County Detention Center to await extradition back to Tennessee to face the charges against him.
Following his return to Nashville, Xavier Holloway Jr. was prosecuted for the murder of Terry Smith. The legal proceedings concluded with Holloway being convicted of first-degree premeditated/intentional murder. He was subsequently sentenced to serve 20 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction.
