ATLANTA — When coping with a loved who who was killed by gun violence, Ashlee Johnson says the grief is different.
"Living with that unsettled feeling of what happened and is something going to happen to me is what makes the most difference between street grief and any other type of grief," she described.
Johnson's husband was killed in February of 2020, leaving her to raise their young son and daughter alone. She told 11Alive's Karys Belger the death of TakeOff, one-third of the hip-hop group Migos, took her back to that time.
"It is very triggering for me, I will say that not as triggering as earlier in my grief process, but it hurt just hurts," she said.
TakeOff, a beloved figure, was killed in a shooting outside of a Houston bowling alley on Nov. 1. Police have begged the public to come forward with any information that may help in solving what happened.
Johnson said TakeOff's fame offers his fans a chance to come together and cope with heir loss. It's a topic she addresses frequently on her podcast "Street Widows." She also said the loss of beloved celebrity to gun violence is not unlike losing a loved one in the same fashion.
"Will it ever stop?" she asked. "Will we ever get to a point where we see the value in these lives that we don't take them?"
Johnson said community is one of the ways people can cope with violent losses and she hopes those who knew and loved TakeOff will find comfort in coming together.
"Everyone who goes in that building is going to cry, they're going to mourn," she said. "But to have that positive reinforcement that we are celebrating a life and he will always be here with his family, with the people who he loves to look after them."