Kia Tidwell was a 42-year-old Black woman and devoted mother of six, known by her family as the "life of the party" and a "woman of God." One of ten siblings, she was remembered for her generosity, with her brother recalling how she once gave her brand-new jacket to a homeless woman shivering on a bench. Though she lived in Portage, Indiana, Kia had deep roots in Gary and, according to her sister, "defended Gary tooth and nail."
On the evening of September 6, 2024, Kia was driving home
after visiting her mother in Gary. Just after 8 p.m., Gary police officers were at a McDonald's on West 5th Avenue and Grant Street investigating a disturbance when a separate conflict erupted nearby. As officers approached a large group, shots were fired from behind an apartment building, pinning them down. At that moment, Kia was driving her red car eastbound on 5th Avenue, inadvertently passing through the line of fire. She was on the phone with her oldest daughter, who heard her mother cry, "Oh, Jesus!" followed by the sound of the car skidding. A stray bullet had struck Kia in the head, causing her to lose control of her vehicle and crash into a tree. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation was a joint effort involving the Gary Police Department, the Lake County Prosecutor's Homicide Task Force, and federal agencies including the ATF. Investigators learned that the gunman had been targeting three men in an orange Dodge Charger in the McDonald's drive-thru, firing 16 bullets in their direction. Detectives spent hours canvassing the area, reviewing camera footage, and analyzing cell phone and social media data. Multiple anonymous tips from the community proved crucial in helping them identify a suspect.
On January 10, 2025, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Tedric Guy Jr., a 20-year-old from Gary. He was apprehended by the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force on January 27, 2025, and subsequently charged with murder.
At his sentencing hearing, Guy addressed the Tidwell family and apologized. "Every day I wish that I could go back and change the way that things went," he said. "Words can't bring Ms. Tidwell back." Kia's mother, Charlotte Tidwell, gave a victim impact statement, telling the court she did not hate Guy but that her daughter's life had been stolen from her. In August 2026, Tedric Guy Jr. was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the shooting that killed Kia Tidwell.
