A beloved Georgia mom and entrepreneur was shot to death Wednesday night by her husband after years of domestic strife, police say.
Commen Gunn, 48, ran a children’s boutique in Augusta, organized the Augusta Legends Awards, the Augusta Grammys, and a pop-up shop for the Masters golf tournament, according to Ronic West of the Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce, who told WRDW Gunn was always “going above and beyond them just working and making money.”
“It’s a huge loss when you lose somebody like that in the community,” West said.
Investigators said that Gunn was shot at least once at her apartment. WRDW reported seeing bullet holes scattered on the unit’s door.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said that Shawn Gunn, 52, opened fire on deputies when they responded to the initial call. They fired back, striking him. He was sent to the hospital and will be booked into jail once he’s released, charged with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Investigators said it wasn’t his first run-in with law enforcement.
Court records show that Gunn has been charged with various counts, from aggravated stalking to family violence to reckless conduct dating back at least to 2014. Deputies say they’ve been called in for disputes involving the family at least six times.
In 2014, he was charged with punching his wife in the face, ears, and head, but prosecutors dropped the charges four years later because of “the age of the case and in the interest of justice,” a court filing said.
In 2018, deputies responded when Commen Gunn called and said her drunken husband had locked her and her daughter out of the house. One deputy told the couple to work it out or separate and said he could charge them with maintaining a disorderly house.
According to report, Commen Gunn told the deputy: “I am being abused and y’all want to lock me up.”
There were also violations of restraining orders Commen Gunn had against her husband, and once he admitted to stealing her jewelry and selling it at a pawn shop.
On Thursday, flowers were left in front of Gunn’s children’s clothing store, Bentlee’s Closet, named for her daughter, WDRW reported. She launched it, her friend Samantha Avera said, so that kids could dress up affordably.
“She was just always supportive,” Avera said. “She just was genuinely a loving person. If you met her, you felt like you have always known her forever.”
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[Featured image: Commen Gunn/Facebook]
