Shakeia Allen was a 27-year-old Black mother who had recently saved enough money to move into her own apartment and was trying to start a new life for herself and her young daughter. That fresh beginning ended on the afternoon of Sunday, April 21, 2024, in the parking lot of her apartment complex on Whitelaw Place in Nottingham, Maryland.

A neighbor’s cell phone video captured a man chasing Allen as she ran and screamed that he should get away and that she had a restraining order. The man then shot her multiple times at close range; Allen died at the scene. Investigators identified the suspect as her 24-year-old ex-boyfriend, Amir Johnson. Court records show both Allen and Johnson filed for protective orders against each other in August 2023; the case was dismissed when neither appeared for a final hearing. In February 2024 Johnson was arrested and charged with assaulting Allen during a move-out and surrendered a handgun to police.

Anyone with information about Shakeia Allen, her movements that afternoon, or the circumstances leading up to the shooting is asked to come forward.