On the evening of November 4, 2015, a 33-year-old Black / African American man named Terrance L. Smith Jr. had just returned to his brother's home in the 800 block of South Broadview in Wichita, Kansas. Smith, who had recently been paroled, had moved to Wichita to live with his brother. After an early dinner with his girlfriend, he was inside the house when a barrage of gunfire erupted outside at approximately 7:15 p.m.
At least 20, and possibly more than 30, shots were fired from the
front yard into the residence. Smith's 28-year-old brother, a documented gang member, was in the back of the house at the time and was uninjured. When he went to the living room after the shooting stopped, he found Terrance Smith unconscious on the floor with a gunshot wound to his head. One of the many bullets fired had penetrated the walls of the house and struck him. Medical personnel were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead at the scene just 14 minutes later.
Wichita police believe the house was specifically targeted, although it remains unclear who the intended victim was. Investigators learned that a robbery had occurred at the same address just two days prior, where Smith's brother and a woman were robbed of cash, cellphones, and a watch. Authorities suspect that two or three individuals were involved in the shooting and that they fled the scene on foot. Despite the belief that the house was targeted, no suspects were immediately identified.
As of early 2016, the case remained one of only two unsolved homicides in Sedgwick County for the previous year. The Wichita Police Department has continued to ask for the public's help for any information that might lead to an arrest. The homicide of Terrance Smith is now considered a cold case, and no arrests have ever been made in connection with his death.
