Deputy Fatally Shot in Ambush After Responding to Woman’s 911 Call at Motel

Authorities have unveiled a chilling sequence of events involving a woman accused of fatally ambushing a deputy in Tennessee. The suspect, Khristi Cunningham, 44, has been charged with first-degree murder following the tragic death of Weakley County Sheriff’s Deputy Derrick Bonham, aged 37, as confirmed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).

The incident occurred in the early hours of January 30, when Deputy Bonham was on duty with the Weakley County Sheriff’s Office, based in western Tennessee. Around 3 a.m., the Martin Police Department requested assistance from the sheriff’s office regarding a reported shooting at the Days Inn on University Street in Martin, a small city approximately 145 miles northwest of Nashville.

Court documents, as reported by regional ABC affiliate WEWS, reveal that Cunningham allegedly fired the shot at the motel and then made the 911 call to report the incident herself. Investigators believe she drove to a nearby Pocket’s convenience store, about a mile away, to observe the police response.

According to court records, Cunningham continued to make 911 calls, hanging up each time. A dispatcher reportedly informed Deputy Bonham that she suspected the caller was at the Pocket’s convenience store, leading him to the scene where the tragic ambush took place.

She allegedly continued calling 911 and hanging up, and, according to the court records, a dispatcher told Bonham that she believed the reporting party was at the Pocket’s convenience store.

The TBI stated that a deputy — Bonham — was “checking a nearby gas station for witnesses” when he came across Cunningham just after 3 a.m. She was on the phone with 911 at the time he pulled up, CBS and The CW affiliate KFVS reported.

“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.”