Nancy Metayer Bowen, the 38-year-old Vice Mayor of Coral Springs, Florida, was shot and killed on April 1, 2026, in what police describe as an apparent domestic violence incident. Her husband, Stephen Bowen, is the suspect; he fled to nearby Plantation, Florida, and was taken into custody at an apartment complex. The Coral Springs Police Department confirmed the death is under active investigation.
Community and Official Response
The city’s official Facebook page mourned her as “a light in our community,” praising her compassionate leadership and noting her historic role as the first Black woman elected to the Coral Springs Commission in 2020. U.S. Rep. Oliver Larkin (D-FL District 23) shared on X that he spoke with her just days earlier at a Ramadan Iftar event, calling her one of the area’s best public servants. She had also served as Florida’s Caribbean Vote Director for the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign.
Family Tragedy Context
This loss follows the suicide of her younger brother, Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer, on December 15, 2025. Donovan, an IT professional and survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland (where 17 were killed), had battled schizophrenia for seven years. The family described his death as a “sorrow beyond words” on a GoFundMe page.
Coral Springs officials urged the community to support her family amid the grief. For updates, check local sources like Florida Politics or the Coral Springs government site.
