On the afternoon of January 2, 2025, 28-year-old Jazmien Rae-Lynn Hernandez was killed in a shooting outside the Best Western Plus on Cunningham Road in Killeen, Texas. Police responded about 1:18 p.m. after multiple 911 calls; officers found a woman and a man with gunshot wounds. Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:05 p.m. by Justice of the Peace Cliff Coleman.

Investigators say a verbal altercation between a 34-year-old man, identified as Lemont Diante McKinney, and a 32-year-old man escalated and both men fired, striking each other and Hernandez. The 32-year-old fled but later arrived at a hospital with gunshot wounds; both men were hospitalized in stable condition. Robbery-Homicide detectives presented their findings to the Bell County District Attorney’s Office, and complaints were filed leading to arrest warrants for Murder and Aggravated Assault against McKinney. McKinney was already in custody on unrelated charges and was arraigned with total bond set at $1,200,000.

Jazmien was born August 6, 1996, in Kittitas, Washington, and lived most of her life in Killeen. She is remembered by family as having a radiant smile and infectious laughter and is survived by her two daughters, Sophia, 6, and Malani, 4, parents Misty Cortes Hernandez and John Albert Hernandez, several siblings, grandparents, and extended family. Does anyone have information about what led to the confrontation that day or witnessed the shooting outside the hotel?