On the morning of July 6, 2024, Latonia Ford, a 51-year-old Black/African American woman, was fatally shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The incident occurred around 8:49 a.m. near the intersection of 58th and Hampton. When police arrived, they discovered Ford in the driver's seat of her vehicle with numerous gunshot wounds. First responders pronounced her deceased at the scene shortly before 9 a.m. An autopsy later revealed she had been shot at least 22 times.
At the time of her death, Ford was a dedicated teacher for Milwaukee Public Schools.
The man charged in her death is her longtime boyfriend, Kenny Knight. The couple had been together for approximately eight years and had been living together until a few days before the shooting. Family members stated that Ford had recently ended the relationship. According to the criminal complaint, Knight drove by Ford's home on the morning of the shooting and, not seeing her car, went to her friend's house. There, he found Ford sitting in her car talking on the phone.
Knight approached the passenger side of Ford's vehicle and, after failing to break the window, began shooting into the car until his gun was empty. Video footage from the area captured Knight pulling up behind Ford's vehicle, exiting his car, and approaching hers. As she began to drive away, he briefly followed alongside her vehicle before getting back into his car. Shortly after the shooting, around 9:24 a.m., Knight walked into Milwaukee Police District 4 and confessed, telling an officer, "I am here to turn myself in, I just shot my girlfriend."
Kenny Knight has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon. Records show he had a prior conviction for substantial battery in 2002. In a written statement to detectives, Knight admitted to his actions. Loved ones remembered Ford as a friendly, outgoing mother and grandmother who would do anything to help others.
