On September 24, 2017, 38-year-old Melanie Crow-Smith was fatally shot in the parking lot of Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tennessee, during a mass shooting that injured six others. A masked gunman opened fire outside the building before proceeding inside; the attacker was later identified as 25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson. A church usher, Robert Engle, confronted Samson during the incident, and during the struggle Samson was shot and then arrested.

Samson was charged with first-degree murder for Crow-Smith’s death and with dozens of additional counts, including aggravated assault and civil rights intimidation. Investigators said the attack was carried out in retaliation for the 2015 Charleston church shooting. At the time of the shooting prosecutors said Samson intended to kill 10 white churchgoers; the defense described the act as an attempt to take his own life rather than premeditated murder.

Crow-Smith was born December 2, 1978. Her funeral was held September 28, 2017, at West Harpeth Funeral Home, and she was buried at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens. She is survived by two children, her parents, and a sister. Did anyone who knew Melanie or was at the church that day come forward with information that could add to the record?