Nicole Michelle Hammond, 28, was gunned down in the parking lot of her workplace early in the morning. Witnesses saw co-worker Michael Jordan Carpenter, 36, run away. Police found the murder weapon in his car, and he made various conflicting and incriminating statements.
Police say that Carpenter had been sending text messages to the victim the night before. Hammond replied, telling Carpenter to stop trying to touch her at work and to leave her alone. Co-workers say that Carpenter kept pursuing Hammond even though she had repeatedly told him no.
So far, he has only been charged with second-degree murder. The CEO of Dubow Textiles, where they both worked, says that nothing about the harassment had been reported. Given the current racial tension and hostility in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, you have to wonder if the victim was terrified of being called a “racist” if she reported anything negative about a Black co-worker.
