Remembering a life cut short by gun violence in Hartford. Family and friends came together at a vigil Saturday for a woman who was shot and killed early Friday morning. Police say 23-year-old Shamyria Williams was an “unintended target.”
“My baby. She was precious. She was my precious jewel.”
A jewel Lacrisha Williams held dear to her heart, now gone. She and other family members mourning the death of her daughter. Hartford Police say Williams was shot and killed in a shooting on Cleveland Avenue early Friday morning. A man was also left injured. Her mother says they were celebrating the Fourth of July during that time.
“You’re supposed to enjoy, have cookouts and enjoy family. Have fun,” Williams said.
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The loss still very raw for her father.
“My heart is pounding. I can’t eat. I cry all night,” Kennedy Asare, the victim’s father, said.
Williams was remembered by her family as a daughter who had a bright future. Her mother says she worked with people with disabilities and picked up many double shifts.
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“She just took care of them, did her job, and put a lot of double shifts. I mean I would barely even see my daughter, because she was pulling so many double shifts,” she said.
Officers say they believe two groups of people were shooting at each other on Cleveland Avenue at the time. They say Williams and the injured man were stuck on a packed street and were “unintended targets.”
It’s especially painful for Lacrisha Williams. Not only losing her daughter, her brother, Jeremy Williams, was killed in Hartford back in February of 2010. The trail in that homicide case still cold.
“Put the guns down. Stop the violence. Stop it. You all took my baby. You all took my brother. That’s it,” she said.
Her mother demanded justice and the shooter responsible to turn themselves in.
“What you did to her, you better know, God sits high, but he looks low. There are consequences to actions and behavior,” she said.
Hartford police say three people of interest have been identified and investigators have already spoken to a few of them. The investigation remains ongoing.
