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Mass Casualty Incidents

Asheville Police Identify Woman Killed in Wednesday Night Shooting as Erica Nichelle Smith, 32

Asheville Police Chief Tammy Hooper released the name of the woman killed in the home where she and her five children lived; the shooting happened on April 18.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Apr 19, 2018, 9:53 a.m. ETWritten Aug 10, 2026, 10:33 p.m. ET

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police have identified the woman killed in a shooting in the on Wednesday, April 18, as Erica Nichelle Smith, 32. Her name was released by police, per Police Chief Tammy Hooper. The shooting happened in the home where Smith and her five children lived, according to police. Police said that at around 10:30 p.m. a 10-year-old boy who had been grazed by a bullet called 911 to say that his mother had been killed. Casualty figures given by police are as of Thursday, April 19, per Chief Hooper. Chief Hooper said the shooting followed an argument earlier that evening at the hospital where the suspect's girlfriend worked. The suspect, identified by Hooper as , is dead of a injury, police said. Hooper also said that on April 5 Smith reported that he had taken a car, and that police determined there was no crime because the vehicle was registered to him. "Any death in our community, especially one involving violence on this scale, has far-reaching traumatic impacts, particularly when they involve children," Hooper said. The Police Department responded to the shooting. If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day: call or text 988.

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Revision history

  1. Version 111 Aug 2026, 02:28current

    First published.

  2. Version 111 Aug 2026, 02:33current

    First published.

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