Dy’Sheae Hall’s mom reveals double family tragedy and haunting link between two shootings of Dancing Dolls members
A DANCER from the renowned studio Dollhouse Dance Factory was shot dead over the weekend – hours before her second cousin was gunned down outside a hospital, the teen’s mom has revealed.
Dionna McCord told The US Sun she is “torn apart” after losing her daughter Dy’Sheae Hall, 16, and her cousin Vincent Parks Jr, 32, in two separate shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday night.
“I haven’t had time to process anything,” Dionna, 37, said through tears during a phone interview on Tuesday.
“I’m just trying to hold it together as best I can but I’ve been completely torn apart.
“Not only have I lost my daughter [but] I also lost my cousin who I grew up with and we were really close.”
Dy’Sheae, a member of the competitive dance troupe Ms. D’s Dancing Dolls, was shot dead outside a Kroger convenience store on Flat Shoals Parkway at 7.46pm on Sunday.
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The fatal gunfire erupted in the parking lot of the store after Dy’Sheae and a male friend, 17, became involved in an argument with two others.
The 17-year-old friend, later identified to be Javonte Wood, was also shot and remains in critical condition as of Tuesday.
Just hours later, another shooting unfolded outside of the nearby Grady Memorial Hospital where members of Dy’Sheae’s family were still grieving her death.
Investigators say the shooting happened near the emergency room and stemmed from a dispute among family members of one of the victims.
Vincent Parks Jr, Dy’Sheae’s second cousin, was pronounced dead at the scene. A second person, who has not been named, was critically injured.
Dionna told The US Sun she’s “not at liberty” to discuss what happened, citing an ongoing investigation, but said she’s unsure what sparked the argument and who was responsible for the shooting.
“I was inside when it happened,” Dionna said. “I was just told that there was a commotion outside and bullets were flying.
“I don’t know how no one actually got shot or anything like that because I wasn’t out there.
“I was inside the hospital and it was on lockdown at that point.”
DOUBLE TRAGEDY
Investigators are currently seeking multiple suspects in relation to the deaths of Dy’Sheae and Parks Jr.
The two shootings are being investigated as separate incidents.
No suspects have been identified in Hall’s death, but police on Monday released surveillance photos of two men they consider to be persons of interest in the case.
The pair reportedly fled the scene after the shooting in a white sedan and headed south of Flake Mill Road.
Three suspects are currently being sought in regard to the shooting outside Grady Hospital, including two who fled the scene on foot.
Everyone involved was part of the same family, Atlanta police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton told reporters in a press conference from the scene.
However, it’s unclear whether the suspects are related to Dy’Sheae or Wood.
“What we do know is the incident started in DeKalb County, and some family members from that incident showed up outside [the] Grady emergency room,” Hampton said.
“There was a dispute and that then escalated to gunfire.”
A LIVING NIGHTMARE
As investigations into both incidents continue, a tearful Dionna said she is struggling to come to terms with the double tragedy, insisting the ordeal feels like some kind of twisted dream she cannot wake up from.
“All of us are just trying to get our heads around what has happened,” Dionna said.
“It’s just one of those things where you feel like you’re living a dream, but unfortunately it’s very, very real; this is now our reality.
“It really hits you when you’re at home and knowing that you won’t get any more calls, Facetimes, or text messages from your kid.”
Dionna, who became pregnant with Dy’Sheae when she was just 19, shared an incredibly close bond with her daughter.
She said it was incredibly difficult to break the news to Dy’Sheae’s 10-year-old sister that the avid performer and aspiring nurse would not be returning home.
It really hits you when you’re at home and knowing that you won’t get any more calls.
Dionna McCord
“We had that open relationship where she could tell me anything and I’d be there for her … It was us against the world,” Dionne said of Dy’Sheae.
“I’ve always made sure she had the best of everything. She was the most humble kid and appreciative of everything you did for her.
“I’ve always been so close with my girls and my youngest daughter was such a huge fan of Dy’Sheae, so she’s always sat right beside me supporting her in everything she did.
“We’re just huddling together now, and she’s holding me up because she knows I’m not the strongest sometimes.”
‘SO MANY PLANS’
Dy’Sheae was set to head into her final year of high school this fall and had hopes of becoming a nurse after graduating from college.
Breaking down in tears, Dionna described her daughter as the “life of the party” and a selfless and caring person who wouldn’t hesitate to give someone the shirt off her own back.
“We had so many plans for her,” said Dionna, her voice cracking with emotion.
“She always had these big bright ideas on the things she wanted to do.
“She has always been the happy life of the party type of kid. She was never sad … she was always trying to be there for everybody, like, if she could help you, she’d help you in any way she can.”
Brionna added: “She was always just in a good mood, she loved to love and loved to care for people.
“She also had such a good relationship with my cousin [Parks Jr]. He checked up on her all the time.”
For the last three years, Dy’Sheae had been performing with the renowned studio Dollhouse Dance Factory, which was founded by coach Dianna Williams.
The troupe was featured on the Lifetime television series “Bring It!”, which aired between 2015 and 2018.
Williams was the in a post on Instagram, in which she remembered the teen as a “fearless” leader who was “always encouraging her sisters and motivating everyone.”
SECOND DANCER LOST TO GUN VIOLENCE
Speaking to The US Sun, Williams said everyone at Dollhouse has been left shaken by the news of Dy’Sheae’s passing.
“The Dollhouse right now is trying to put one foot in front of the other and pick up the pieces,” Williams said.
“All my dancers are like my kids. I feel as any parent would, I feel confusion, sadness, anger, and devastation, but I’m also trying to remember the happy times instead of holding onto the negative.
“I’ve known Dy’Sheae for the last three years. I watched her grow up in front of me and she was just there [at the studio] last Wednesday.
“That was the last time we put eyes on her. And four days later, who would’ve thought something like this would be possible.”
Dy’Sheae’s death comes months after former troupe member Shakira Gatlin was shot dead in February.
Shakira, 19, was fatally struck by gunfire at a home in Jackson, Mississippi.
According to police, the teen was shot in the head after an underaged male “mishandled a gun”.
‘I’M BROKEN’
Williams said losing two members of her troupe to gun violence in just the span of just a few months has been nothing short of devastating.
The esteemed coach, who founded Dollhouse Dance Factory 21 years ago, said the two girls’ deaths were a tragic indication of the wider gun violence epidemic currently plaguing the US.
“Neither one of these girls were troubled teens,” Williams said. “They were great students, great kids.
“They would never be involved in anything like this or any trouble.
“The way they passed is eerily similar, and the loss of kids from violence is just too much at the moment.
“From a personal standpoint I’m broken, angry, confused, hurt, and stuck.
“You don’t know what to do. Nobody is immune from death, but you just expect them to outlive you – you don’t expect to bury them.
“We were looking forward to seeing them go to prom, college, get married, and have babies … I have a big vision for what I do with Dollhouse Dance and this is not a part of it.
“The vision is to watch them conquer every dream they have.”
Williams added: “Shakira was going somewhere; Dyshea was going somewhere.
“Both were helpful and had great spirits, they had the biggest smiles and they were good people.
“I’m a mom. I can’t even imagine my child going to the movies or school and not coming back.
“So I put myself in the shoes of my parents, and think ‘oh s**t’.
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“Because we can’t put these kids in a bubble … but you’re afraid if they ride a school bus, are they going to get shot? Or if they go to a supermarket, are they going to get shot?
“Something needs to change.”