The distraught mother of Yazmeen Williams, a 31-year-old woman found fatally shot and wrapped in a sleeping bag on a Kips Bay sidewalk, shared her anguish on Monday, revealing she fainted upon hearing the tragic news.
Yazmeen’s body was discovered among several black trash bags set out for garbage collection outside 207 E. 27th St. around 5 p.m. Friday, according to police. Officers confirmed Monday that Yazmeen had been shot in the head, and her death has been ruled a homicide.
“[Officers] said, ‘Are you Yazmeen Williams’ mother?’” recounted Yazmeen’s mother, Nicole Williams, to The Post. “And I said, ‘Yes, I’m Nicole Williams. I’m her mother.’ And they said, ‘Your daughter has been shot.’ I asked if she was going to be all right, and they said no, that she died,” Nicole said, breaking down in tears. “I fainted and the officer had to pick me up off the floor. She’s my baby! We’ve got to get justice for her! She didn’t deserve what happened to her!”
Law enforcement sources reported that a person of interest was taken into custody after being seen in an electric wheelchair dragging the bag containing Yazmeen’s body. No charges have been filed yet.
The body was initially dumped on Third Avenue near East 27th Street. Workers at a nearby saloon moved the bag, thinking it was part of their own trash pile, according to sources.
Police are still investigating the exact time of the fatal shooting. No arrests have been made, and no suspect information is available at this time. However, Yazmeen’s mother suspects one of her daughter’s friends, who uses a wheelchair, might be involved. “That’s her friend! The man in the wheelchair is her friend!” she exclaimed. “He’s got to be! He knows her from the neighborhood!”
Yazmeen, who studied criminal justice at Buffalo State University, has a twin brother and a father who was flying in from Atlanta on Monday. A small memorial with Yazmeen’s photo surrounded by flowers and candles was set up on the sidewalk where her body was found. A local homeless man, who knew Yazmeen, created the memorial to honor her memory.
As the investigation continues, the family and community are left in shock, seeking answers and justice for Yazmeen Williams.