Who is Jada Arnell Thomas? Dallas Singer Shot Onstage Signing Autographs
A Texas singer is hospitalized after she was shot onstage following a performance Saturday with The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in downtown Dallas.
Jada Arnell Thomas, 26, was signing autographs after the show when a woman from the crowd shot her in the chest.
Dallas police arrested Micah Williams, 26, as the suspected shooter. She allegedly fled the building after the shooting. TBAAL staff and police chased her into a nearby high-end hotel where she was arrested.
She was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was taken to the Dallas County Jail on a $200,000 bond.
TBAAL founder and president Curtis King told Newsweek that he visited Thomas in the hospital Monday night after she allegedly had surgery.
“She’s progressing,” he said. “She’s resilient, she’s strong, and she’s a fighter.”
(Left to right) Singer Jada Thomas, 26 and her suspected shooter, Micah Williams, 26.
Facebook/Dallas County Sheriff’s Office
“She asked me, ‘Do you think I’ll sing again?’ I said, ‘Better than ever. You’re going to sing and you’re going to soar,'” King said of Thomas.
“She did the thumbs up, and kind of chuckled. She had surgery, so she was kind of little groggy, but she’s an amazing spirit. She’s an incredible singer, an incredible artist, and she’s a good writer.”
King first met Thomas when her parents brought her to TBAAL at age 10. He helped create the musical The Bitches which Thomas currently stars in along with two other women, K Woods and Lucki Azariah.
The trio was signing autographs after the matinee performance of the show when Williams allegedly opened fire.
King said some of his other mentees claimed Williams and Thomas knew each other in 5th grade as they allegedly attended the arts center at the same time.
“They were all at the hospital the other day and they said, ‘Mr. King, this girl was in the summer program,” the students said of Williams.
“Then we started going back. She (Williams) was in the program probably, like, 18 years ago,” he continued. “I don’t remember her coming, but Jada grew up with me.”
King described the shooting as “a slow-motion movie.”
“It was chaotic,” he told Newsweek. “The whole room just started praying. It was like a big chant.”
In a Facebook post, King revealed TBAAL will implement enhanced safety measures for their future events, including decreasing the number of entry points to focus on preventing weapons from entering their spaces.
“For 48 years, TBAAL has proudly maintained a tradition of safe, family-oriented events and a welcoming environment,” King said. “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.”
Who is Jada Thomas?
Thomas has 21,000 followers on her Facebook page. She lives in DeSoto, Texas, and attended the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
One day before the shooting, Thomas made a Facebook post inviting fans to the remaining performances of her show The Bitches which she performs with two other women.
“If a woman stands her ground, she’s often called a ‘bitch.’ If a man stands his ground, he’s called a man,” a poster for the show reads.
“Three women Jada Arnell, K Woods, and Lucki Azariah, from different backgrounds open their hearts, revealing unfeigned and tender moments of their experiences in a society that’s not always in their favor.”
The show had one more performance scheduled for 8:15 p.m. on the day Thomas was shot.
Thomas has not posted on Facebook since the incident.
Death of Christina Grimmie
On June 10, 2016, YouTube star and The Voice contestant Christina Grimmie was shot dead while signing autographs after a concert at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida.
Grimmie, 22, went to hug obsessed fan Kevin James Loibl, 27, but he shot her once in the head and twice in the chest before fatally shooting himself.
Orlando police said Loibl had shown an “unhealthy and unrealistic infatuation” with Grimmie and tried to make himself more physically attractive for her through weight loss, hair transplants, teeth whitening, and eye surgery.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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