Elijah Damelle Hereford, 24, was shot and killed after an argument inside a car in South Bend, Indiana, in March 2020. He was a passenger near Kentucky Street and Western Avenue when he asked the female driver to stop so he could walk the rest of the way. As the vehicle stopped, another passenger seated behind Hereford fired a gun and struck him.

Hereford was taken to a nearby hospital by the driver and a passenger but died in the early hours of Tuesday, March 17, 2020. South Bend detectives used witness statements and surveillance footage to identify and locate a suspect at an Elkhart apartment. Malik Kiwan Barnes, 24, was arrested and booked into the St. Joseph County Jail on a preliminary murder charge with a firearm sentencing enhancement.

The driver told investigators Barnes was romantically interested in her and jealous of her friendship with Hereford; Barnes allegedly admitted during questioning that he shot Hereford, saying he believed Hereford might have been reaching for a weapon. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to come forward.