Teen arrested in Atlanta in shooting of Black transgender woman Koko Da Doll
Atlanta Police arrested a 17-year-old on Thursday in connection with the murder of Black transgender woman Rasheed Williams, who was featured in the Sundance Film Festival documentary "Kokomo City" in January 2023.
Williams, 35, who performed under the stage name Koko Da Doll, was found shot to death in southwest Atlanta on April 18, according to police. She "was not alert, conscious or breathing, and pronounced deceased on scene," a statement from the Atlanta Police Department read.
Atlanta Police said homicide detectives were able to secure arrest warrants for murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm against 17-year-old Jermarcus Jernigan, who is being charged as an adult under Georgia law.
"On April 26, 2023, Mr. Jernigan turned himself in at the Zone 1 Precinct," a separate police statement said. The statement confirmed that Jernigan was transported to the Fulton County Jail and placed into custody without incident.
While the police statement did not identify Williams, "Kokomo City" director D. Smith wrote on Instagram that the victim was Williams.
"On Tuesday night, Rasheeda Williams was shot and killed in Atlanta. Rasheeda, aka Koko Da Doll, was the latest victim of violence against Black transgender women," Smith wrote on Instagram. "I created Kokomo City because I wanted to show the fun, humanized, natural side of Black trans women. I wanted to create images that didn't show the trauma or the statistics of murder of Transgender lives."
The Atlanta Police Department noted in its statement that it was "actively investigating three violent crimes involving transgender women this year."
It added, "While these individual incidents are unrelated, we are very aware of the epidemic-level violence black and brown transgender women face in America."
The department told CBS News that it was not able to release further information about the incident at this time.
