Taquita Williams, a 25-year-old certified nursing assistant known as “Tee,” was described by her sister as the heart of their family, a happy and energetic woman who brightened every room she entered. Originally from the Chicago area, the Black female had moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, about four years before her death to be closer to relatives. She had recently spent several months back in Illinois caring for her grandmother until she passed away.
Her sister said Taquita loved being around her large family and friends and “was the one who kept everyone together.”
In the early morning hours of July 1, 2020, that light was extinguished in a sudden, tragic incident outside a bar. Williams was with 20-year-old Dominique D. Taylor outside the Trend Bar on University Avenue around 1:15 a.m. Surveillance video from the bar captured the two as they “appeared to be playfully interacting by jostling and shoving one another,” according to the criminal complaint. As Taylor held onto both of Williams’s arms and stepped over a curb, a handgun he was carrying in his waistband fell to the ground. The weapon discharged on impact, and a single bullet struck Williams in the abdomen.
Immediately after the gunshot, video showed Williams grabbing her abdomen and falling to the ground. Taylor was seen picking an object from the ground, putting it in his pants, and getting into a Chevrolet Tahoe that drove away. A man who saw Williams on the ground picked her up and rushed her to Regions Hospital, but she was pronounced dead a short time later from the gunshot wound.
Police officers who responded to the hospital found Taylor sitting on a set of stairs outside the emergency room. He had gone there to check on Williams’s condition. When officers asked if he had any weapons, he admitted to having a handgun in his sweatpants and confirmed it was the one that had gone off. Taylor was arrested and told investigators the shooting was an accident. He said he was “too drunk” to stop the gun from falling after Williams grabbed him. He also stated that he had bought the gun on the street for protection due to his affiliation with a gang and that he was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm because of prior felony convictions.
Dominique D. Taylor was charged with second-degree manslaughter and a crime committed for the benefit of a gang. According to a report from January 2021, Taylor later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
