Rahsaun Williams, a Queens resident, was fatally shot just days before his 40th birthday. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. on Friday when Williams confronted a man who had groped his on-again, off-again girlfriend, police said.
The altercation turned violent, and the assailant shot Williams in the stomach and left shoulder. Williams had rushed to help his girlfriend after she informed him about the assault, as reported by the New York Post.
“The world is now just crazy nowadays,” his mother Beverly Williams told The Post Tuesday as she planned her son’s funeral. “I don’t know what’s going on with the guns. Everybody got a gun.”
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The shooter remains at large as Williams’ grieving family struggles to comprehend the senseless act of violence. Beverly Williams, the grieving mother of Rahsaun Williams, described her late son as “her king”.
“His older brother always said he was my favorite,” the 62-year-old retired home health aide said.
“No, it wasn’t that he was my favorite. He was just the one that stuck to me. He went where I went. If anyone so much as breathe hard on me, he wasn’t having it — do not mess with his mother.”
“He was always protective of me, my protector,” she continued, tears streaming from her eyes. “It’s tragic, it’s really tragic. I would have never dreamed nothing like this, not in a million years.”
The death has left her “walking in a nightmare,” she said.
“This boy was my heart,” she said. “They just ripped my heart out.”
Friends, family, and neighbors created an impromptu memorial outside Beverly Williams’ home to honor Rahsaun Williams, nicknamed “Badness.” The memorial featured candles, empty Hennessy bottles, a teddy bear, and a message board filled with heartfelt tributes.
“Rest in Peace, King,” one message said of the slain man, who had two daughters and a son.
His 16-year-old daughter, Cashnere Williams, pledged to “protect our legacy and family.”
“Imma make sure your name, B.A.D. stays alive, I love you forever and your baby gonna miss you,” Cashnere wrote.
Rahsaun Williams, who recently moved to a new apartment in Jamaica, Queens, was set to celebrate his upcoming 40th birthday with his family at Nick Cannon’s “Wild ‘N Out Live” at the Barclays Center.
However, the planned celebration never took place due to his shooting.
Latasha Nicolson, the mother of Rahsaun Williams’ son Cashnere, described Rahsaun Williams as a creative soul who loved Red Lobster, enjoyed theme parks, and cherished the holidays.
“He is very creative,” she said. “He makes the Halloween costumes, and he goes trick-or-treating with the kids. I don’t know how that’s going to work this year.
“He does the holidays, the ugly Christmas sweater — that’s his thing.”
Beverly Williams revealed that she nicknamed her son “Badness” because she fell in the tub and broke her ankle while pregnant with him.
“I said, ‘Oh this boy is going to be trouble,” she said. “But he was never trouble. He’s just Rashaun Badness.”
Rahsaun Williams, who had the first three letters of his mother’s name tattooed on his neck, was passionate about rap music and appeared in the music video for Jay-Z’s 1999 song “Do It Again” as a teenager.
His mother remarked that she wasn’t surprised he died trying to help someone else, as that was simply his character.
Rahsaun Williams and the woman he defended had recently rekindled their relationship.
“The person who did this is somewhere hiding and running, but you can’t run forever,” Beverly Williams said.
“There is no statute of limitation for murder,” she continued. “I hope they rot in jail, I really do. I hope they have every day of their life, not running like they plan on doing.
“I hope they sit in a cell and just think about it.”
