A beloved member of the Gainesville, Georgia community, 44-year-old Tia Vidon Keith, was tragically killed on the evening of July 16, 2026, in a violent sequence of events that began in her own vehicle and concluded inside a local convenience store. Keith, a successful entrepreneur and owner of Divine Designs, also known as Royal-T Styles Salon, was a gifted Master Loctician known for her creative spirit and for building meaningful relationships with her clients, inspiring confidence in those she served. Remembered for her deep love for her family, her unwavering dedication to her craft, and the joy and kindness she brought into the lives of many, her sudden death sent shockwaves through the community.
The incident unfolded just after 9:30 p.m. at the Subhanallah Food Mart on Mountain View Road. After making a purchase inside, Keith returned to her car to find her former live-in boyfriend, 45-year-old Antwane Sintell Thurmond of Oakwood, waiting for her in the passenger seat. For reasons that remain under investigation, Thurmond shot Keith multiple times while she was in the driver's seat. Despite being gravely wounded, she managed to escape the vehicle and ran back into the convenience store in a desperate attempt to find help. Thurmond pursued her into the store and continued to fire, shooting her several more times before she collapsed and died on the floor. The entire harrowing incident was captured on the store's surveillance footage.
Immediately following the shooting, Thurmond fled the scene, sparking an intensive weeklong manhunt. The Hall County Sheriff's Office, along with the Oakwood Police Department, quickly identified Thurmond as the suspect and warned the public that he was considered armed and dangerous. The search for Thurmond involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Georgia Department of Community Supervision. Investigators were able to recover the vehicle Thurmond used to flee and executed a search warrant at a home in metro Atlanta where they found unspecified evidence. The search culminated on July 23, 2026, when authorities tracked Thurmond to a Motel 6 in Augusta, nearly 140 miles from the scene of the crime. He was arrested without incident by the Richmond County Sheriff's Office and was held there before being transported back to Hall County. Thurmond has been charged with a litany of offenses, including malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault under the Family Violence Act, as well as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. As of the latest available information, legal proceedings are in the early stages, and there has been no trial, conviction, or sentencing in this case.
