On the evening of April 25, 2011, 19-year-old Tomika Isabella Swoope was walking home on the 3200 block of Columbus Avenue South in Minneapolis after seeing a cousin off at a bus stop. A dark-colored car approached and gunfire rang out; Tomika was struck in the head and left gravely wounded on the sidewalk. She was taken to a nearby hospital and then transferred to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she died on April 27, 2011. Another cousin with her was grazed in the hand and survived.

Police said Tomika had no criminal record and was not involved in gang activity, though people with gang affiliations lived at her home. Investigators have treated mistaken identity as a prevailing theory; family members noted she was wearing red that evening. No arrests or publicly identified suspects have been announced. The dark-colored car and its occupants left the scene and have not been located.

Anyone who knew Tomika, saw a dark-colored car in the area that night, or has information about rival gang activity on that block is asked to come forward.