On a tragic March morning in Speedway, Indiana, the life of Anthony Santura Smith, a 34-year-old Black male, came to a violent end. The events that unfolded on March 4, 2015, were the culmination of a troubled history, resulting in a fatal confrontation with his ex-girlfriend.
In the early hours, Smith forcibly entered his ex-girlfriend's apartment, an act that would prove to be his last. Inside the residence, the woman was with her two young children.
Fearing for her life and the safety of her children, she discharged a firearm, striking Smith in the head. When police arrived at the scene, they found Smith unresponsive. Medics were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead. The Marion County Coroner's office later confirmed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound.
The investigation into the shooting revealed a history of domestic turmoil between Smith and his ex-girlfriend. There had been previous instances where police were called to the apartment due to domestic disturbances. At the time of his death, Smith was under a community corrections monitoring program as part of a 13-year sentence for a narcotics dealing charge from 2012. He also had a documented history of threatening behavior. In a separate incident in August of the previous year, the same ex-girlfriend had reported to police that Smith had chased her on his motorcycle and sent threatening text messages after she ended their relationship. She alleged that he had threatened to kill her and her children and had previously broken a window to gain entry to her apartment.
In the aftermath of the shooting, law enforcement officials indicated that they did not anticipate filing any charges against the ex-girlfriend. The prevailing belief among investigators was that she had acted in self-defense, using justifiable force to protect herself and her children from an imminent threat posed by Smith's aggressive actions. Consequently, no arrests were made in connection with the death of Anthony Santura Smith, and the case was concluded without any legal proceedings against the shooter.
