Witnesses were distraught as they saw a victim lying on the ground in southwest Atlanta with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the face last week, according to 911 calls released by police Tuesday.
Rasheeda Williams, 35, who was known in the transgender community as Koko Da Doll or Hollywood Koko, was found dead shortly before 11 p.m. April 18 at Holmes Plaza on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. In surveillance footage confirmed by Atlanta police of the moments leading up to Williams’ death, a man wearing a Falcons jersey could be seen walking behind her.
A short time later, a 911 caller stated: “Someone has been shot and they’re laid out.”
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After hearing gunshots, the caller said they went to the plaza, where they saw a distraught woman near Williams’ body. During the call, that young woman was heard weeping while exclaiming that she was sorry, without elaborating.
“No, don’t be sorry,” the caller said.
“Breathe, you have to breathe.”
The caller told the dispatcher that Williams looked like she was shot in the face, and there was “blood everywhere.” The victim appeared to be unconscious and was not breathing normally, the caller stated, though her body was “going up and down.”
“I can see her body moving,” the caller added. Police arrived about a minute later.
Williams was on her way to becoming a star before the shooting, according to those who knew her. She was featured in an award-winning documentary, “Kokomo City,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and was getting ready to drop a music album.
On Saturday evening, a vigil in her honor was held in the parking lot of Holmes Plaza.
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She was the second Black trans woman to be shot and killed this month in Atlanta. Ashley Burton, a 37-year-old hairstylist, died April 11 at the City Park Atlanta apartments. A third transgender woman was shot in another part of the city in January.
Atlanta police said they share the public’s concern regarding the recent attacks and are exploring all possible motives.
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