Sekedra McCoy was a 38-year-old Black woman whose life ended after a shooting on the night of October 30, 2024, at the Elizabeth Canty Homes apartment complex in Columbus, Georgia. At approximately 8:34 p.m., Columbus Police officers were dispatched to 200 20th Avenue after receiving a report of gunfire. When officers reached the property, they found McCoy suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Emergency medical personnel transported her to Piedmont Columbus Regional, but her injuries proved fatal. Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan reported that she was pronounced dead at 10:45 p.m.
The Columbus Police Department's Violent Crimes Unit assumed responsibility for the homicide investigation. Investigators began working the scene and reviewing evidence from the area, while police sought information from anyone who might have witnessed the shooting or knew what had happened. The investigation also drew assistance from the department's Special Operations and Drone units, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Columbus Real-Time Crime Center, which provided surveillance support.
The investigation moved quickly. On October 31, only a day after the shooting, police arrested Dejahn Glenn. Authorities charged Glenn with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in connection with McCoy's death. The arrest followed investigative work that included the use of surveillance cameras accessible through the Real-Time Crime Center.
More details about the evidence against Glenn became public when he appeared in Columbus Recorder's Court on November 8, 2024. During that hearing, police testified that surveillance footage available through the Real-Time Crime Center allowed investigators to place Glenn at the apartment complex around the time McCoy was shot. Investigators also said witnesses who heard the gunfire later identified Glenn from a photographic lineup as the person they saw running from the area after the shots were fired.
Glenn pleaded not guilty at that first court appearance. Following the hearing, the case was bound over to Superior Court for further proceedings, and Glenn was ordered held without bond. The publicly available reporting located on the case documents the prosecution through that stage but does not provide a later trial verdict or conviction. The murder and firearm allegations therefore remained charges in the available reports, and Glenn was entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty in court.
Beyond the criminal investigation, McCoy's death left three young daughters without her. A family-organized fundraiser described the loss as devastating and said relatives and members of the Columbus community were rallying around the children to help with educational expenses, after-school activities, and other needs following her death. Her killing thus left an impact extending well beyond the crime scene as investigators and prosecutors pursued the case against the person accused of taking her life.
