Terence Hollis, a 32-year-old Black man, died on March 22, 2015, following a dispute that began inside a restaurant in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and ended with gunfire in the parking lot. The altercation started as a fistfight within the Chicken Coop restaurant on South Division Avenue and subsequently moved outside. It was in the parking lot that Hollis was shot once in the chest.
A friend transported him to a local hospital, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into the shooting led police to Shaquille Bunting, who was 21 years old at the time. He was initially taken into custody and charged with perjury in April 2015 for providing false statements to investigators. Later, in January 2016, the charges against Bunting were elevated to include open murder, weapon possession by a felon, and a felony firearm charge. Prosecutors argued that Bunting's motive for the shooting stemmed from the belief that Hollis had struck his sister during the altercation inside the restaurant. His sister later testified that her brother had confessed to the shooting, telling her he did it because Hollis had hit her.
Shaquille Bunting's case went to trial, where a jury convicted him of second-degree murder. At his sentencing hearing, Bunting expressed remorse for Hollis's death but did not admit to being the shooter. The judge, however, noted that evidence showed Bunting had pressed a handgun against Hollis's back and fired, causing a contact wound. Bunting was sentenced to a minimum of 37 and a half years to a maximum of 75 years in prison for the murder, with an additional mandatory two-year sentence for the felony firearm conviction. The incident was one of several violent occurrences at the location, which prompted the restaurant's owner to agree to earlier closing times on weekends.
