Keenen Deangelo Banner, 31, was shot and killed in Gastonia, North Carolina, on June 21, 2022. Officers responding to a report of a shooting on Rankin Avenue found Banner outside a home with an upper-body gunshot wound; he was taken to CaroMont Regional Medical Center and died there. Blood and drag marks were reported leading from 814 Rankin Avenue to 810 Rankin Avenue.

Three people were arrested in connection with the case on July 7, 2022. Eric Smith, 48, was charged with first-degree murder and identified as the person who shot Banner. Quanesha Renee Douglas, 24, was charged with accessory after the fact of homicide and obstruction of justice and was accused of driving Smith away from the scene. Donald Lamar Johnson, 44, was charged with accessory after the fact of homicide and was alleged to have assisted in moving Banner’s body to a neighbor’s home. Bond was denied for Smith; bonds were set for Douglas and Johnson at $200,000 and $250,000, respectively.

Banner was born February 1, 1991, in Newberry, South Carolina, and was the son of Kenneth Banner and the late Deatrice Caldwell Banner. The Highland community has seen increased concern about violence since the shooting. Does anyone have information about Banner, his movements that night, or the events on Rankin Avenue?