On the evening of June 22, 1979, 20-year-old Bonita Beatrice Carter, a Black woman, was fatally shot outside a convenience store in the Kingston neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama. Police officers had been dispatched on a robbery-in-progress call; Officer George Sands and his partner arrived first. According to accounts, the store manager pointed to a car leaving the lot and said the suspects were armed. Sands approached the vehicle and fired his revolver four times. Three bullets struck Carter, who was unarmed and died almost instantly. A witness told officers after the shooting that Carter had not been involved.

The killing provoked widespread outrage in Birmingham’s Black community and led to protests against police brutality. An extraordinary committee reviewing the case found the shooting unjustified, but an internal police inquiry concluded Sands had acted within department policy and he was not removed from the force. The case helped galvanize political change in the city and a memorial sign honoring Carter was rededicated in 2019. If anyone knew Bonita Carter or has information about the events that night, please share what is known.