Sara R. Hammond was 21 when she was killed in a Stanardsville, Virginia home on December 1, 2020. A Charlottesville High School graduate who played on the women’s basketball team and enjoyed dance and music, she was a guest that evening at the residence of 17-year-old Brandon Wade Shifflett.

According to legal documents, Shifflett handled a firearm during the gathering and, in what was described as a careless and reckless act, pointed the weapon in Hammond’s direction. A single shot was fired, and Sara Hammond was pronounced dead at the scene; her death was ruled a homicide. Authorities arrested Shifflett and charged him in connection with the shooting.

A wrongful death lawsuit was also filed on behalf of Hammond’s estate alleging the same careless handling of the gun led to her death. Does anyone have information about that December 1 gathering or about Sara’s last known movements that could help clarify what happened?