Brooklyn Man Shot And Killed Breaking Up A Fight Between Women Over Hair Weave

A 2011 fight between a group of women over hair weave left 27-year-old Shawn Williams dead and now 21-year-old Dennzel Holder is on trial for second-degree murder. According to the New York Daily News, the altercation began in Brooklyn and involved five women—one of them being Shawn’s girlfriend. The violent brawl went down on a sunny summer day on Norstrand Avenue in Crown Heights when a group of teens made a catty remark believed to be about the victim’s girlfriend, Sheniqua Cunningham.

“My boyfriend wouldn’t let me walk out of the house looking like that,” one of the teens reportedly said.

Sheniqua assumed the teens were referring to her and quickly responded to them.

“She didn’t look as glamorous, I guess, so she thought they were making fun of her,” said Shawn’s mother, Dierdra Haynes.

The confrontation quickly escalated, resulting in five women throwing punches. Reporters say at one point, a bottle was even thrown.

“You have approximately five young ladies in combat,” said the defendant’s attorney, Gregory Watts, who maintains that his client was not the shooter.

Shawn was able to step in and sort of diffuse the situation until one of the young women involved in the brawl, Shatasia Megett, called her boyfriend, Dennzel. Witnesses say Dennzel and another young woman’s cousin arrived on the scene around the same time and in no time, the brawl got started up again. Shots rang out and Shawn was hit in the back. He later died.

“It could have been over, as something stupid people were talking about,” said prosecutor Edward Purce. “If it was not such a tragic incident, we would probably laugh about it because it’s so pathetic.”

“[But Dennzel] took this to another level,” Edward continued. “He took it to a place where it was no longer something to joke about.”

Shawn’s father, Leonard Saunders, is heartbroken over his son’s senseless death, but remains confident that justice will be served.

“I’ve seen some of the videotape of what transpired,” Leonard said “I was wondering how the hell at around 3:40 in the afternoon somebody would come out with a gun in broad daylight with little kids running down the street, walking with their parents.”

The victim’s mother, Dierdra, recalled laying eyes on the accused killer in the courtroom during the trial.

“He’s emotionless,” she said. “No remorse. No nothing.”