Anitra Holloman, who was killed in the Birmingham shooting, lost her daughter's father to violence: “She feels her mother is gone”

Holloman was one of four people killed when gunmen opened fire in the heart of Five Points South, firing more than 100 bullets – some of them fully automatic – into the crowd gathered in the popular entertainment district.

Seventeen other people were injured in the shooting, five of whom are still in hospital.

“She was my best friend,” Kemp said, “my right hand.”

Holloman graduated from AH Parker High School and attended Lawson State Community College.

Demetris Silliman Jr., Holloman's longtime friend and Skilar's father, was found shot to death on October 11, 2022.

Birmingham police and firefighters responded to the 1100 block of Penfield Drive at the intersection with Zion City Road at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Silliman was found dead in his black 2010 Chevrolet Impala off the road.

His murder is still unsolved.

“They were in love,” Kemp said. “They had been together for a long time.”

“My baby stayed strong,” she said. “She had her baby and was the best mother. She has been taking care of her baby ever since.”

During her studies, Holloman worked as a tax consultant in her family's tax office and completed training as a notary.

“She was very determined,” Kemp said. “She said she wanted to be like her mother because I'm an entrepreneur myself.”

Although Holloman was a graduate of Parker University, he celebrated with friends at an event for Jackson-Olin High School alumni on Saturday night.

“She just happened to go there that night,” Kemp said. “She did what 21-year-old girls do.”

Holloman and his friends had just reached the finish line when the shots rang out.

Kemp said another victim – 27-year-old Tahj Booker – tried to shield Holloman from the bullets. Both died on the sidewalk.

Holloman's sister happened to be on Facebook and saw the news about the shooting.

“I checked her (Holloman's) location and saw she was there,” Kemp said. “I immediately started calling her, but she didn't answer.”

“I just knew something was wrong,” she said, “because even if she had hidden (from the gunfire), she would have answered my call to tell me she was OK.”

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Kemp kept calling as she rushed from her home to the crime scene.

“An officer told me to go to the hospital,” she said. “I waited there for a few hours and they told me they didn't even have my baby in the hospital.”

She said she called three other hospitals to no avail and then learned that her worst fears had come true.

“They told us to go to the crime scene,” Kemp said. “She was still on the ground.”

Kemp saw a video of the shooting with her daughter, but did not see her body at the scene. “I didn't want to see that,” she said.

Holloman was Kemp's second of five children and her firstborn daughter.

Holloman and Skilar lived with Kemp and she can't imagine a future without them.

“She told me she would never leave my house,” Kemp said, “and I told her she would never have to.”

Skilar, who turned one in March, probably doesn't understand what happened, but she knows something is wrong.

“She goes into her bedroom – they slept in the same bedroom – and she always looks like she's asking, 'Where's my mommy?'” Kemp said. “Skilar was sleeping under her mother's chest. She must have been right under her.”

“I think she's wondering why all these people are here in our house,” she said. “I know she senses her mother is gone.”

“Usually she's whiny when she wants to go to her mommy, but she wasn't,” Kemp said, “so I don't know if my daughter is holding her and calming her down. I honestly feel like she is.”

Kemp said Holloman was quiet but still outgoing.

“When she went out with friends, she was fun but very respectful,” she said. “She was so pretty and followed the latest fashions.”

“Everyone loved ReRe,” she said. “She was just The Girl.”

Kemp said she wants her daughter to be remembered for her smile and ambition.

“She loved very deeply,” she said. “When she loved you, she loved and accepted you as a person.”

But above all, she said, Holloman was a giver.

“She never left out a gift for the holiday that was special to me,” she said. “She always gave me memorable gifts, like pictures of me and my kids, family photos. She made things for me.”

Kemp said she is trying to stay calm and cope with the loss.

“It's hit me a few times, but I haven't had a chance to see my baby yet and that's what's going to hurt me the most,” she said.

“My mom has been there for me every step of the way and she will help me through the process because I don't want to see my little daughter like this.”

If she had the chance, she would just ask the shooter a few questions, Kemp said.

“Why?” she said. “Whoever you were targeting, why did you have to do it right there, where all those innocent bystanders were?”

“Why do you have to have those switches on your guns?” Kemp asked. “Just to say you have one and kill innocent people?”

The FBI and Crime Stoppers are offering a reward of up to $100,000.

You can submit information to police here. You can also call investigators at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.