Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen was shot and killed Wednesday in an apparent domestic violence incident, according to information that sources initially gave Florida Politics off the record that the Coral Springs Police Department has since confirmed.
Her husband, Stephen Bowen, is a suspect. He is now in police custody after initially fleeing to Plantation, where he was apprehended at the Landmark Towers apartment complex.
Sources said a friend of Metayer Bowen called to speak with her on Wednesday, but couldn’t reach her. They then called Bowen, who “sounded suspicious,” prompting the friend to call the police.
Officers went to the house for a wellness check at around 10 a.m., Coral Springs Police Chief Brad Mock said during a 5:45 p.m. press conference. After finding Metayer Bowen deceased, they put out a call for Bowen.
Plantation license plate readers got a hit on Bowen’s car along SR 7/U.S. 441, a source said. Shortly after that, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office apprehended him at a friend’s home.
Mock did not specify Metayer Bowen’s cause of death, but he confirmed the case is being investigated as a domestic violence incident.
An environmental scientist by trade, Metayer Bowen, a 38-year-old first-generation American, was a trailblazing public servant and community advocate who became a standout elected official in Broward County.
She won her seat on the Coral Springs Commission in 2020, becoming the first Black and Haitian American woman elected to the panel. Four years later, she won re-election unopposed.
While serving in Coral Springs, she served on the city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and Charter School Advisory Board, the Broward County Climate Change Task Force, and the Florida League of Cities’ Legislative Committee.
Metayer Bowen’s interest in politics was earnest and came early, and in recent years, she stood out as a rising star within the Democratic Party.
A graduate of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a master’s degree in environmental health sciences, according to her LinkedIn page, Metayer Bowen worked as a legal and outreach intern with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before accepting internships with former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and ex-President Barack Obama’s administration.
She then worked for about two years on Haiti relief before taking a job with Broward County government as a Program Manager with the county’s Junior Sustainability Stewards Program. In June 2017, she was elected to the Broward Soil and Water Conservation District, where she served for about two years. During that time, she also held several roles with an organization that has since become Florida Rising, a nonprofit that advocates for affordable housing, immigration rights, expanding democracy, environmental protections and judicial system accountability.
After a short stint as a community engagement liaison for the city of Tamarac, Metayer Bowen held positions with environmental and nonprofit groups while also successfully seeking her seat on the Coral Springs Commission.
During her tenure, she supported city efforts tied to economic development, small-business growth and youth programming, and spoke on issues including housing affordability and public safety.
Outside City Hall, she participated in community and mentorship initiatives focused on young people and underserved residents.
In 2024, she was tapped first by former President Joe Biden and later by former Vice President Kamala Harris to serve as their presidential campaigns’ Florida Caribbean Vote Director.
That same month, Metayer Bowen attracted positive attention as one of the first elected officials to publicly criticize Harris’ successor, Vice President JD Vance, for spreading lies that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Ohio.
In March last year, the Florida Democratic Party named her its Vice Chair of Haitian American Voter Engagement.
A source told Florida Politics that Metayer Bowen was preparing to run for Congress this year.
An outpouring of shock and sadness followed news of her death.
Coral Springs Commissioner Joshua Simmons said his “soul is heavy” and his “heart is broken.”
“She had such a good heart,” he said. “She truly cared about people.”
City Manager Catherine Givens added, “Today is a very dark day for us in Coral Springs.”
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried reflected on how she had spoken with Metayer Bowen “just days ago” and that the two had embraced at the party’s Leadership Summit, “never imagining it would be one of our last moments together.”
“Nancy was not simply our Vice Chair of Haitian Outreach. She was a scientist. An environmentalist. A brilliant barrier-breaker who made history as the first Black and Haitian-American woman elected to the Coral Springs City Commission. A Vice Mayor who showed up every single day for the people she served. She loved her community deeply and believed, with every fiber of her being, that a better and more equitable future was possible for all of us,” Fried said in a statement.
“Above all, Nancy was my friend and a friend to everyone who has ever believed that democracy was worth fighting for. The world is less bright without her in it. Her memory will forever be a blessing to me, to our party, and to every person whose life she touched. My heart, my prayers, and the full love of the Florida Democratic Party are with her family and the people of Coral Springs as they face this unimaginable, devastating loss.”
House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell called the news “beyond horrific.”
“Truly praying for her family and the entire community. She was such a sweet person with a servant’s heart,” she wrote on X. Driskell later released a statement in which she described Metayer Bowen as “a kindhearted, humble servant leader” whose “violent and unconscionable” death “is a shock that reverberates throughout our entire state.”
“This loss is not just a political one; it is a human one. We have lost a leader who led with empathy and a friend who brightened every room she entered,” she said. “No family should have to endure this kind of loss. No community should have to grieve a leader taken from them by violence. I join with my colleagues across Florida in mourning Vice Mayor Metayer Bowen’s passing, and I urge that justice be pursued swiftly and fully on her behalf.”
Miami Gardens Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones said he was “deeply heartbroken.”
“The Coral Springs community — and all of Broward County — has lost a true champion,” he said in a statement. “Nancy was not only a trailblazer, but an incredible friend who showed up for people each and every day. The world is darker this evening without her light in it.”
Tamarac Democratic Sen. Rosalind Osgood said in a statement that she was “shocked to be grieving” Metayer Bowen’s death.
“She was a model of public service and a tireless advocate for the people of Broward County and the Haitian American community,” she said. “I get up every day and go to work so that young women don’t have to die like this anymore. You never know what the people around you are going through. My prayers will be with her family and friends and with our community as we process this senseless tragedy.”
Jacksonville Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon said she was “devastated to hear that we have lost Nancy, who was my friend, colleague, and sister in the movement.”
“She was a kind and caring person, and a true leader in her community,” Nixon said in a statement. “This is an immense loss for all of us, and the world is darker without her. I am keeping Nancy’s family in my thoughts and prayers.”
South Miami Mayor Javier Fernández called Metayer Bowen “a true believer … dedicated to service at her core.”
“This one hits hard. She was a light in a world that often seems overwhelmingly dark,” he wrote on X. “Her loss is profound. May she rest in peace.”
Metayer Bowen celebrated her second wedding anniversary to Stephen Bowen in a Nov. 22, 2024, Instagram post depicting the couple in front of the Coral Springs seal at City Hall.
“Two years with the amazing Stephen Bowen,” she wrote. “Cheers to love, growth, and building a beautiful life together.”
The Metayer family has been beset by tragedy in the past year. In December, Metayer Bowen’s 26-year-old brother, Joshua, died by suicide after a years-long battle with schizophrenia. He was a survivor of the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
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This story was originally published at 4:35 p.m. April 1, 2026. It is developing and will be updated.
