Fact-Checking the King Von Fatal Shooting: Atlanta Police Reports, Ballistics, and Charges
By James H. Sterling
Dayvon Bennett arrived at the Monaco Hookah Lounge in downtown Atlanta alongside a substantial entourage during the early morning hours of November 6, 2020. Tensions flared when Bennett’s group crossed paths with Savannah rapper Quando Rondo, born Tyquian Bowman. Parking lot surveillance cameras captured the rapid escalation: Bennett approached Bowman on foot and threw a series of punches.
Physical combat dissolved into gunfire within seconds. An associate standing near Bowman pulled a handgun and fired directly into Bennett at point-blank range.
Chaos engulfed the street. Two off-duty Atlanta police officers working authorized secondary security jobs at the lounge, alongside an on-duty officer patrolling nearby, ran toward the gunfire. Officers discharged their department-issued sidearms as individuals scattered across Trinity Avenue. Bennett sustained multiple hits, collapsed onto the pavement, and was placed into a private vehicle by associates who sped away toward Grady Memorial Hospital.
Medical staff at Grady wheeled Bennett into emergency surgery. Surgeons worked against catastrophic blood loss and internal trauma, but the rapper was pronounced dead later that morning. Two other men involved in the melee, 34-year-old Mark Blakely and 20-year-old Zhanique Sands, also suffered fatal injuries.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
