NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — Metro Nashville detectives are looking for the person responsible for a shooting which left Ashanti Posey, 17, dead.
Police say it happened at the intersection of Green Lane and Whites Creek Pike on April 9. Ashanti, a senior at Hillsboro High School, was driving a silver Chevrolet Malibu with a 17-year-old passenger with her. Investigators say they had just left a nearby neighborhood where they had made a small marijuana sale when shots were fired on the Malibu.
Amber Posey, Ashanti's mother says this was no drug deal gone bad.
"My daughter worked two jobs at 17-years-old, two jobs," said Posey, "She wouldn’t got a second job if she was a street kid, that’s just not what street kids do, they don’t try to make money the honest way."
Ashanti’s passenger, who was uninjured, climbed into Posey’s lap and drove several miles to the 5100 block of Whites Creek Pike. She then ran to a home and got help. Ashanti was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she died.
Ashanti was known by her family and friends as "Ace" and had hoop dreams to play basketball at Western Kentucky University.
"My daughter was a caring child, it was just that simple," said Posey, "If you believed in what she believed in, you were her family."
Ashanti was openly gay and an advocate for the LGBT community. Her mother believes this is why her daughter was killed.
"This was out of jealousy because my daughter was openly gay and in a happy relationship with a young lady for two years," she said. "Sometimes being different is not accepted in society, it’s just not."
Posey says her daughter was robbed from her, and she will do everything to keep her name alive and bring her justice.
"I don’t care if you gave the person the gun, if you gave them gas money to get where my baby was, I will bring you down," said Posey.
Anyone with information about the murder of Ashanti Posey is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463. The direct web link to provide mobile tips is www.p3tips.com/161 [p3tips.com]. Persons who contact Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and qualify for a cash reward.
As the Posey family prepares for Ashanti Posey's memorial services over the April 17 weekend, they ask for privacy. Amber Posey has released the following statement.
As we prepare for her services, we ask that our friends and neighbors lift us up in prayer and keep Ashanti’s memory alive. A beloved daughter, sibling and friend, Ashanti was planning to attend Western Kentucky University in the fall to play basketball. Our family is heartbroken.
We are grateful for all of the support our family has received from the community and from the police. If you have any information that would be helpful to the investigation, no matter how big or small, please contact Crime Stoppers at (615) 742-7463. We are asking anyone with any information to come forward, because the truth is the best way to honor Ashanti’s memory.
This is just the beginning, and we will continue to keep our heads held high in Ashanti's honor and in the spirit of bringing justice to not just our family, but all families who have tragically lost a loved one to gun violence.
