On a Sunday morning in Antioch, Tennessee, 38-year-old Melanie Crow-Smith was tragically killed in a mass shooting at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ. The incident, which occurred on September 24, 2017, also left six other people injured. Crow-Smith was in the church parking lot when a masked gunman, later identified as 25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson, opened fire. She was fatally wounded outside the building before the shooter proceeded inside.
Samson, a native of Sudan, had previously attended the Burnette Chapel church. On the day of the attack, he was armed with two handguns and began shooting at parishioners after entering the rear of the church. The violence was halted when a church usher, Robert Engle, confronted Samson. During the struggle, Samson was shot, and he was subsequently arrested.
Following the shooting, Samson was charged with first-degree murder for the death of Melanie Crow-Smith, as well as 43 other charges, including aggravated assault and civil rights intimidation. During the investigation, it was revealed that the attack was an act of retaliation for the 2015 Charleston church shooting, in which a white supremacist murdered nine African-American churchgoers. Samson's trial began in May 2019, where prosecutors argued his intention was to kill 10 white churchgoers. His defense claimed the actions were not premeditated but rather an attempt to take his own life.
Melanie Crow-Smith was born on December 2, 1978. Her funeral services were held on September 28, 2017, at West Harpeth Funeral Home, followed by her interment at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens. She was survived by her two children, her parents, and a sister.
