On a summer day in Summerton, South Carolina, a domestic dispute turned deadly, leaving a family shattered and a community in shock. On August 24, 2024, 41-year-old Lekenla Renesha Cantey, a Black female, was killed in her home. The Clarendon County Sheriff's Office reported that she was involved in a physical altercation with her 68-year-old father, Buster Bennett.
Deputies arriving at the residence found Cantey unresponsive in a hallway, having sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
Investigators determined that during the course of the physical fight, Bennett, who is wheelchair-bound, allegedly shot his daughter. Other family members were reportedly present in the home at the time of the tragic incident. Cantey was pronounced dead at the scene by the Clarendon County Coroner's Office.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office stated that the investigation was ongoing. As of late August 2024, no arrests had been made, and no charges had been filed against Buster Bennett in connection with his daughter's death. Authorities have not released a specific motive for the altercation that preceded the fatal shooting. Court records indicate a previous civil case between Bennett and Cantey in 2023, though the details of that dispute are not publicly available. The case was ultimately dismissed. The community awaits further information as law enforcement continues to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of Lekenla Cantey.
