On a tragic Wednesday afternoon, July 24, 2019, the life of 22-year-old Montieria Myers was cut short in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Myers, a Black female, along with her 19-year-old sister, Mernaiya, were fatally shot during a violent altercation at the Simply Unique Hair Beauty Supply store. The sisters had gone to the establishment with their mother, Latonya Myers, to confront an employee, Shamone Dennis, regarding an ongoing personal dispute.
The confrontation quickly escalated from a verbal argument to a physical fight. Surveillance footage and witness interviews revealed that the Myers sisters and their mother initiated the physical altercation with the employee. In the midst of the struggle, the employee discharged a firearm. Montieria Myers died at the scene, while her sister, Mernaiya, succumbed to her injuries after being transported to a local hospital.
Following the incident, the Hot Springs Police Department investigated the double homicide and assembled a case file that was presented to the Garland County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for review. After a thorough examination of the evidence, which included the video surveillance of the altercation, the prosecuting attorney determined that the employee's actions were a case of justifiable homicide, committed in self-defense.
As a result of this ruling, no charges were filed against the shooter. The case was subsequently closed, leaving the community to grapple with the sudden and violent loss of the two young sisters. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing the mother, Latonya Myers, leaving the beauty supply store in a black car after the shooting. The incident stemmed from a personal dispute that had reportedly begun the previous night and tragically culminated in the deaths of Montieria and Mernaiya Myers.
