A simmering dispute between two groups erupted in gunfire in the parking lot of a Bojangles restaurant on Harbison Boulevard in Columbia, South Carolina, tragically ending the life of an innocent bystander. Antoinette Michelle Hammonds-Colon, a 40-year-old female, was working at the restaurant on the morning of Thursday, November 14, 2024, when the shooting occurred.
She was found outside the restaurant with a gunshot wound to her upper body and was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. Hammonds-Colon succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead on Friday, November 15, 2024.
The Columbia Police Department quickly identified a suspect in the shooting, 23-year-old Ja'Quivian Kennerly. Investigators believe the incident was not a random act of violence but stemmed from an ongoing conflict. They allege that Kennerly fired numerous shots at a vehicle in the parking lot, intending to harm the two occupants inside. Instead, the gunfire struck Hammonds-Colon, who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Police have stated they believe she was an innocent bystander in the altercation.
Following a search, Ja'Quivian Kennerly surrendered to the authorities on Wednesday morning, November 20, 2024. He now faces a string of serious charges, including murder, two counts of attempted murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. The investigation into the shooting involved the Columbia Police Department, the Lexington County Coroner's Office, and the U.S. Marshal Service's Carolinas Regional Task Force. As the legal process begins for Kennerly, the family and friends of Antoinette Michelle Hammonds-Colon are left to mourn the senseless loss of a woman described as a devoted wife and mother of nine with a 'heart of gold.'
