PASADENA, Texas – A Georgia mother is mourning the death of her son, 26-year-old Chazz Williams, who was shot and killed on Christmas Eve while sitting in his car at an apartment complex off Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena.
The shooting happened around 3:52 p.m. on Dec. 24, when police responded to reports of gunshots at 4102 Young Street. When officers got on scene they found Williams in his vehicle, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
“He was my peace, my balance,” Williams’ mom Dawnielle Williams said. “He was always someone that was positive. He would take something negative and make it into positive.”
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Williams was visiting Pasadena for the holidays, seeing family.
Dawnielle recalls being told about the shooting.
“I dropped the phone, and I fell to my knees. I believe I just stayed on the ground and [wept] and cried and yelled and screamed and just,” she said. “I think I screamed at the top of my long for hours.”
Chazz’s 7-year-old daughter then went into the room to console her grandmother, unaware of the reason for her tears.
“She didn’t know at the time what occurred, but she brought me...just comfort, lay with me. And, you know, she actually overheard. I didn’t tell her directly what occurred, but she overheard it,” Dawnielle recalled. “And she went to get his picture and we both laid on the poster and just laid on top of it for hours, screaming.”
Witnesses at the scene reported seeing two men fleeing the area, possibly heading west toward Fox Meadow Lane. One suspect was described as wearing a white and gray hoodie with black pants, while the other was dressed in a black hoodie and black pants.
Family friends say the shooting, which in the afternoon, was shocking.
“It’s the middle of the afternoon, a normal time,” said James Walker, a close family friend. “It wasn’t like he was out at 2 a.m. or anything like that.”
Those who know Chazz are left with questions they don’t think they’ll ever answers to.
“We will never, unfortunately, know why he was there or what he was doing. We just hope we can find out who these bad guys are and get them,” Walker said.
Dawnielle is left to cope with a loss that will forever change her family’s holiday, especially for his daughter.
“This will affect her for her future. For her entire life. She’ll remember this. Each Christmas Eve holiday. And this will be a constant reminder of what occurred. And I just pray that she will continue to observe the holiday and maybe bless others during the holidays. Use this note to help others as well for the future,” Dawnielle said.
As the family struggles with their grief, they are also working to bring Chazz’s body back to Georgia.
“He was born and raised in Texas, but I’d like to actually bring his body back here to Georgia to bury so that his daughter can be able to go see him often whenever she thinks of him on Father’s Day or holidays,” Dawnielle explained. “And she talks about him so much. I want to be able to give her thoughts, go to her accomplishments, to him and speak with him. So, I like to bring his body and bury his body here in Georgia.”
Dawnielle makes a public appeal for continued assistance from the community, asking for any information that could help solve the case. “I hope they continue to pour in any clues, any video, any information that they have,” she said.
Pasadena Police are continuing their investigation into the fatal shooting. Authorities are urging anyone with information about the incident, or those who may have doorbell or surveillance footage of the suspects, to come forward. Detective M. Quintanilla of the Pasadena Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit is leading the case, which has been assigned case number 24-020099.