NEW ORLEANS — Two young women who appeared to be out on the town celebrating as their school years were nearing an end were gunned down early Friday as they were making strides towards their life’s goals, according to a report on NOLA.com.
JaDiamond Jones and Imani Williams were identified by NOLA.com as the victims in the case. In the early morning hours Friday gunshots rang out in the 1000 block of North Claiborne, leaving both women shot multiple times and ending their lives.
Jones was a student at Nunez Community college who was preparing to receive a diploma in nursing while Williams was a sophomore at Southern University in Baton Rouge pursuing a degree in business management.
“This student, like others who are taken away because of senseless acts of violence, will never get the chance to graduate and fulfill their dreams. The entire university expresses our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones,” said a statement from Southern University about Williams.
"She was so anxious to graduate to make a better life for her and her child," a fellow nursing student at Nunez Community College who asked to remain anonymous told NOLA.com. "She loved helping people. She would have been an awesome nurse, and that's all she talked about."
According to police, the shooting happened around 1:30 a.m. Friday. Witnesses tell WWL-TV that a graduation party was happening.
They said they don’t know where the bullets came from, but once the shots started, everyone ran.
At least 100 evidence markers were put up by NOPD. Neighbors say there were so many shots, so quickly, it sounded like fireworks.
“Me and my wife was lying in bed,” nearby resident Davis Sterling said. “It sounded about 10 to 15 shots we heard it and we dove on the floor behind the bed.”
The bullets flew through the area, some ripped through cars and even Sterling’s home. He says it’s not the first time.
“Bullet holes in the side from them shooting this corner, bullets went through the wall, l went through the speakers by my couch, someone in my house could’ve gotten shot so I’m really upset about it but we can’t do nothing about it. I’m sorry for the two young ladies who got shot,” Sterling said.
Friday’s shooting meant that three women were shot and killed in New Orleans in 24 hours, following a fatal shooting off the I-10 service road Thursday.
It follows a particularly deadly time in New Orleans for young women as at least four have been killed in the past two weeks.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, perhaps in an effort to ease citizen concerns, emphasized that none of the recent shootings were random. And, while she did acknowledge that domestic violence could factor into some of the incidents, she also made a point to say that there are women involved in some of the city’s violence.
“Women also play a role in violent activity in our city,” she said during an event Friday. “Unfortunately people are involved in criminal activity in our city and it plays out on the streets of New Orleans and it is all genders and we’re seeing that.”
Cantrell did not specify if any of the recent victims were believed involved in those types of activities, but she did say that regardless of the circumstances, people are hurting from the crimes.
“At the end of the day it is traumatizing to everyone and those families, those women matter, still in all, regardless. They have loved ones and need justice as well.”