A woman was shot and killed in Washington D.C. on Thursday by her ex-boyfriend.
Nikiesha Thomas, 33, had obtained a protective order against ex-boyfriend Antoine Oliver just three days before her murder. The authorities said the order had not yet been served. They had made attempts to reach Oliver, including by phone.
The protective order not only covered her home but her place of employment.
"Certainly, the efforts to get him served were made," Chief Assistant Sheriff Darrin C. Palmer said per The Washington Post. "The events on Thursday are tragic, absolutely tragic."
On Thursday morning, Thomas was shot in the head in a Planet Fitness parking lot in the 3200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. Thomas worked nearby out of a satellite office for D.C.'s education agency as part of a team that provides services to infants and toddlers with disabilities.
Her cousin Henryk Palmer said Thomas's employers told her that she did not have to come into work until the order had been served.
"She didn't want to be the reason somebody couldn't get the support they needed," Palmer said.
Oliver, 36, of Fort Washington, Maryland, reportedly ran up to a car in the gym parking lot. He then fired at least one shot through a car window into Thomas's head before fleeing the scene. Thomas's vehicle hit several vehicles immediately after the shooting.
Officers told 7News that after the killing, Oliver carjacked a vehicle in Prince George's County. He was later found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound near East Capitol Street and Minnesota Avenue NE. Officers say he committed suicide as officers were closing in on him.
The suspect's firearm was recovered inside of the carjacked vehicle.
Family members told WaPo that Thomas had earned her master's degree in social work from the University of Maryland. She was making plans to buy a house for her and her 10-year-old daughter. Thomas's daughter is from a previous relationship.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Nikiesha Thomas.