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2 killed in separate weekend homicides in Bessemer: ‘Put the guns down,’ says grieving mom
Updated Apr 19, 2021;
Two men were killed in separate weekend incidents in Bessemer, including one who was beaten to death with a kitchen pot and another who was shot while walking home from his grandparents’ house.
Family members say Deterrious Kieth-Bernerd Steele, 21, had left his grandparents’ house Sunday night and was just walking to his girlfriend’s house several blocks away. A short time later, Bessemer police and fire medics were dispatched to Hard Park, also known as Enoch Brown Park, after someone found him wounded.
It wasn’t immediately clear what time the shooting actually happened, but the family last saw him about 7:45 p.m. Steele was found unresponsive at 9:48 p.m. and pronounced dead on the scene.
Ex-boyfriend charged in fatal shooting of 21-year-old Bessemer mother of twins
Updated Apr 16, 2021;
Posted Apr 16, 2021
LaShay Jackson, a 21-year-old mother of twins, was shot to death April 14, 2021 in what authorities believe was a domestic incident. (Contributed)
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The ex-boyfriend of a young mother fatally gunned down outside her Bessemer home has been charged in the slaying.
Bessemer police on Friday announced the arrest of De Anthius Jacobien Edwards. The 20-year-old is charged with murder in the Wednesday shooting death of 21-year-old Joanne “LaShay” Jackson, the mother of 3-year-old twins.
The shooting happened about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday in the 2800 block of Carolina Terrace. Jackson was taken to UAB Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 10:10 p.m.
‘To know her was to love her’: 21-year-old mother of twins mourned after fatal shooting
Updated Apr 15, 2021;
Posted Apr 15, 2021
LaShay Jackson, a 21-year-old mother of twins, was shot to death April 14, 2021 in what authorities believe was a domestic incident. (Contributed)
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Friends and family are mourning the death of a 21-year-old mother who was fatally shot during an apparent domestic dispute in Bessemer.
Joanne “LaShay” Jackson was shot about 9:15 p.m. Wednesday at her home in the 2800 block of Carolina Terrace. She was taken to UAB Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 10:10 p.m.
She was the mother of 3-year-old twins. “To know her was to love her,’ said her father, David Jackson. “I’m devastated.”
As the city of Bessemer grew, so did LaTasha Cook-Williams.
The 45-year-old Marvel City native is the first woman and first African American to serve as president of the Bessemer Area Chamber of Commerce, a position she has held since 2015.
“I am excited to set some examples and, hopefully, make it easier for the generation after me when it comes to taking leadership positions,” she said.
Cook-Williams said she has noticed gradual changes with businesses in Bessemer since she started working with the chamber as an intern in 1992.
“It was predominately Caucasian [back then], … but I’ve seen diversity shift in Bessemer, even in the leadership positions,” she said. “More [people of color] are getting involved and knowing how important it is to reach their customer base.”