First Camden homicide victim of year a 'wonderful girl'

Although a bullet pierced Anjanea Williams' torso Thursday afternoon in Camden, her family believed she would survive. She had been talking to medical personnel at the scene and was conscious at the hospital.

But eight hours later at Cooper University Hospital, the young woman died, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said. Williams had been shot when a man started firing in her direction around 2 p.m. on the 1700 block of Broadway, the Prosecutor's Office said.

Williams and two others were outside a deli after ordering food when the gunfire broke out, relatives said. Williams appeared to be an innocent bystander in a shooting that could be drug-related, said the Prosecutor's Office.

"One minute you're living your life, and the next minute you're going to purchase a meal and you're gone," said a cousin, Tomeka Williams, 36, of Pennsauken. "She was a wonderful, wonderful girl. She didn't even get to see 21."

Williams, 20, of Camden, who was known as "Nay Nay" and wasn't much for confrontation, whom kids seemed to gravitate to, who loved Spanish rice and beans, was the first slaying victim in Camden this year and the first since the cash-strapped city laid off nearly half of its police force this week.

Williams died around 10 p.m. Thursday as at least 50 relatives and friends from Baltimore, Delaware, and elsewhere waited at Cooper.

"We laughed because Nay Nay is going to think she's tough now, because she took a bullet," said her aunt, Cybill Leggett, who was with Williams at the shooting.

"She's so strong," Leggett said.

Thursday was a normal day for Williams. She had cashed her unemployment check before heading to Frank's Deli. She had recently worked in the dietary department at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, her family said.

Williams, Leggett, and Leggett's friend stopped by Frank's, known for inexpensive but good food. Leggett, who was driving, also had her neighbor's two boys in the car, one 2 years old and the other 11 months.

The women took turns going into Frank's to order: a chicken Parmesan platter, a cheesesteak platter, and a chicken tenders platter, said owner Paul Kang.

Leggett, who had taken the 2-year-old with her into the deli, crossed the street to get him a bag of chips from another store. After putting him in the front seat, she left the car door open because the boy was afraid she would leave him, she said. It was a move that saved her.

About 10 minutes later, Leggett said, a man started shooting in their direction. He was about a block away, she said.

Witnesses reported seeing three men approaching Williams with their faces concealed, authorities said. Only one fired.

Leggett dove into the car, landing on top of the 2-year-old to shield him. The 11-month-old was still asleep in the backseat.

The shooting continued for what seemed "like forever," Leggett said.

She got out of the car and told Williams: " 'Come on, they're finished,' " Leggett said.

"She told me she couldn't, because it hurt," Leggett said. "I thought Nay Nay was playing with me."

Williams was kicking her legs. Leggett asked where she was wounded. Williams didn't know.

Two plainclothes state troopers in the area arrived on the scene. One rolled Williams on her side and found the wound, Leggett said. He applied pressure to Williams' torso until the ambulance arrived, the Prosecutor's Office said.

"He just came out of nowhere," Leggett said. "I am so thankful for him."

Williams graduated from Camden County Technical School's Gloucester Township campus, where she studied culinary arts. While she was out of work, she wanted to attend Camden County College with the hope of opening a day care one day, her cousin said.

Williams had no children, but others' children were drawn to her. She was looking forward to her cousin Tomeka's baby shower and asked that the menu include Spanish rice and beans.

"It's sad," said Kang, the deli owner. "This isn't the first shooting. There have been many shootings in this neighborhood."

On Jan. 9, a 54-year-old woman was shot in the neck and a 29-year-old man was shot in the left arm on the same block, authorities said.

City spokesman Robert Corrales called the section "a hot-spot area in Camden where we're taking appropriate measures to ensure the safety of our residents."

Jason Laughlin, a spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office, would not comment on whether authorities had a suspect in custody.

On Friday, solemn-faced relatives and friends packed Williams' house. They draped a blue sheet from a window sill of the house, spray-painted R.I.P., and wrote messages in a black marker. One said: Love You Baby Miss You Much.

"Find my baby's killer," said her mother, LaTonya.

Anyone with information on the shooting is being asked to contact Camden County Prosecutor's Office Investigator James Bruno at 856-225-8400 or Camden Police Detective Robert Perkins and State Trooper John Walker at 856-757-7420.