Background: The Days Inn on the 800 block of University Street in Martin, Tennessee (WBIR/YouTube). Inset left: Khristi Cunningham (Obion County Jail). Inset right: Deputy Derrick Bonham (Weakley County Sheriff”s Office).
In a tragic series of events at a Tennessee motel, investigators allege that a woman fired a weapon, dialed 911 to report the incident, and then fatally ambushed a deputy who responded to the call.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has charged 44-year-old Khristi Cunningham with first-degree murder in connection with the killing of 37-year-old Weakley County Sheriff’s Deputy Derrick Bonham. This development was detailed in an official announcement by the TBI.
In the early hours of January 30, Deputy Bonham was on duty with the Weakley County Sheriff’s Office, located in western Tennessee. Around 3 a.m., the Martin Police Department sought assistance from the sheriff’s office regarding a shooting incident at the Days Inn on University Street in Martin, a small city approximately 145 miles northwest of Nashville.
According to court documents obtained by regional ABC affiliate WEWS, Cunningham not only discharged the gun at the motel but also made the call to report it. Authorities believe she then drove to a Pocket’s convenience store about a mile away, where she could observe the police response.
Cunningham reportedly continued making 911 calls, only to abruptly hang up. Court records indicate that a dispatcher informed Deputy Bonham that the caller appeared to be at the Pocket’s convenience store.
The TBI revealed that Deputy Bonham, while “checking a nearby gas station for witnesses,” encountered Cunningham shortly after 3 a.m. She was still on a call with 911 when he arrived, as reported by CBS and The CW affiliate KFVS.
“For reasons still under investigation, Cunningham brandished a weapon and shot the deputy,” the TBI went on. She then shot him three more times as he was on the ground, according to investigators, who pointed to the deputy’s own body camera footage.
The suspect then reportedly fired multiple shots at other officers.
Officers with the Martin Police Department were able to arrest Cunningham. Bonham was transported to a local hospital, where he died.
Weakley County Sheriff Terry McDade described the shooting as a “great tragedy.”
“I hope the person responsible doesn’t breathe our air anymore,” he said, per WEWS. “If that offends somebody, I’m offended that they’re offended.”
Bonham was a husband with three children; he was described by McDade as “kind, quiet and humble.”
