In the late morning of October 7, 2018, a dispute that began on social media escalated to a fatal confrontation in Kennewick, Washington, claiming the life of 28-year-old Hakim Omar Ward, a Black male. The incident unfolded in the bustling parking lot of the Red Lion Hotel on North Columbia Center Boulevard. An argument that started the night before between Ward and Devan L.
Thompson, 31, over social media spilled into the real world, culminating in a physical altercation.
According to statements made by Thompson and his fiancée to the police, Ward approached their parked silver Nissan Rogue and began punching Thompson through the open driver's side window. In response, Thompson allegedly fired a. 40-caliber handgun. He later claimed to investigators that he had fired a warning shot into the ground to scare Ward away. However, the single bullet struck Ward in the leg, a wound that would prove to be fatal. After the shot was fired, Thompson and his fiancée immediately fled the scene.
A friend who was with Ward drove him across the street to the parking lot of a Payless ShoeSource and Chipotle, where they sought help. Emergency services were called, and Ward was transported by ambulance to Trios Southridge Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a short time later. An autopsy later confirmed that Ward died from blood loss as a result of the gunshot wound to his leg.
In the hours following the shooting, Thompson contacted the Kennewick Police Department by phone, admitting to his involvement but claiming self-defense. He initially refused to disclose his location but stated his intention to return to Kennewick and surrender to authorities. Investigators identified Thompson, an Everett resident with a prior felony conviction for a home-invasion robbery which made it illegal for him to possess a firearm, as the suspect. A nationwide arrest warrant was issued for him for first-degree unlawful possession of a gun. Two days after the shooting, on the evening of October 9th, Devan Thompson turned himself into the Benton County Jail.
