A Dallas singer has been hospitalized after she was shot on stage following a performance with The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in downtown Dallas on Saturday, police said.
26-year-old Jada Arnell Thomas had been signing autographs on stage when a woman in the crowd shot her, witnesses told NBC DFW.
Thomas was transported to a local hospital by Dallas Fire Rescue and is reported to be in stable condition, the Dallas Police Department told NBC News.
Officers arrested Micah Williams, also 26-years-old, and said that a handgun was recovered. She was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was transported to the Dallas County Jail.
Police did not reveal a motive and it is unclear if the two knew each other. The investigation is ongoing.
TBAAL’s Founder and president Curtis King confirmed that Thomas was “going to be okay” in a social media post on Sunday.
While she was on stage Saturday, King wrote that Thomas thanked him “for always supporting us and giving us a ‘safe’ place to work.” Moments later, gunshots rang out.
“It was a packed house, people were in line getting autographs and we heard this shot,” King told NBC DFW. “It was unreal. It was like everything was in slow motion.”
He told the outlet that staff followed the suspected shooter outside and called 911, and officers found her in the lobby of a nearby hotel.
“It is eerie to know that we now live in the kind of world with people who seem to be bent on doing harm to other people, many times for no apparent and sensible reason,” King said on social media.
He affirmed that Thomas is “courageously strong, resilient and a devout child of God,” and asked for prayers from the community.
King announced in a separate social media post that TBAAL will implement a set of enhanced safety measures for their events going forward, 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.”
TBAAL is a multi-discipline arts institution that strives to “create and enhance an awareness and understanding of artistic, cultural, and aesthetic differences utilizing the framework of African, African-American, and Caribbean Arts and Letters,” according to the organization’s mission statement.
