On the evening of April 2, 2023, a trip to a local convenience store turned fatal for 44-year-old Theresa Renee Thomas, an African American woman from Louisville, Kentucky. Known affectionately as 'Poochie,' Thomas was off-duty from her job at the Platinum Food Mart on South 10th Street and West Broadway but had stopped in to pick up a few items. Her simple errand was tragically interrupted when a man entered the store and began aggressively confronting another woman.
Witnesses reported
that the man was demanding the other woman remove her clothing. In an act of courage, Thomas, a mother of two, stepped in to de-escalate the volatile situation and protect the woman being targeted. During the ensuing struggle, the assailant struck a customer with his handgun, causing the weapon to discharge. The bullet struck Theresa Thomas in the chest, and she was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical services.
The Louisville Metro Police Department quickly launched a homicide investigation, utilizing surveillance footage from the store that captured the entire incident. The video evidence proved crucial in identifying a suspect. On April 20, 2023, authorities arrested 18-year-old Deshawn Duncan in connection with the fatal shooting. He was subsequently charged with murder and booked into the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections. Court records later confirmed that Duncan was seen on the surveillance video entering the store with a handgun, engaging in a verbal altercation, and ultimately shooting Thomas as she tried to intervene.
