DALLAS — A singer was hospitalized after being shot onstage at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, according to a letter from police to the Dallas Mayor and city council obtained by WFAA.
Dallas police said officers responded to a shooting around 5:53 p.m. Nov. 2 in the 600 block of S. Griffin St. Officers found that singer Jada Thomas had finished performing at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters and was signing autographs onstage when she was shot, the letter states.
She was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition, according to the letter, DPD and Curtis King, the director and founder of the academy. The suspect left the scene but was later detained by officers, the letter states.
The suspect was later identified as Micah Williams, 26. Williams is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and she is being held in Dallas County Jail with a bond of $200,000 according to jail records.
She was arrested in a hotel lobby near 205 North Akard Street after a witness flagged down police en route to the shooting, according to the arrest affidavit. The suspect tried to sit on her purse when police detained her and noticed a handgun inside the bag, the affidavit states.
Witnesses told police that they interacted with Williams ahead of the shooting and described her as "really robotic and off," the affidavit states. In an interview, Williams admitted to shooting Thomas and claimed she was harassing her all of 2023, the affidavit states.
"Confused, distraught, angry, upset, disappointed," King described his emotions to WFAA. "It was so bizarre, it was almost like a movie, like a bad dream," he said.
King told WFAA Thomas has been performing at the academy since she was just ten years old. He said he is already working on an updated safety plan for the building, like buying metal detectors and limiting points of entry.
"I’m not saying we should not be cognizant of hatred and people like that," he told WFAA. "But we cannot continue to walk in fear because that’s not the kind of person Jada Thomas is. She’s not a person who’s gonna lie and live in fear. She said today, 'Is this gonna affect my singing?' No, it’s not. She will still sing, and she will soar."
The Black Academy of Arts and Letters was founded in 1977 as an outgrowth of the New York City-based Black Academy of Arts and Letters. Its mission is to "create and enhance an awareness and understanding of artistic, cultural, and aesthetic differences utilizing the framework of African, African-American, and Caribbean Arts and Letters," according to the organization's mission statement.
"For 48 years, TBAAL has proudly maintained a tradition of safe, family-oriented events and a welcoming environment," Curtis King, founder and president of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters said in the release. "We affirm that our patrons are upstanding citizens who share our commitment to a safe, positive environment for all. As we continue forward, our mission to enrich the community through arts remains unwavering."
DPD said they are investigating the incident.