A young woman was running for her life when she was fatally shot by a masked assailant who chased her into her Queens apartment, killing her with a gunshot to the head just as she got to her bathroom door, the victim’s mother and police told the Daily News on Sunday.
Dashanna Donovan, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene after cops found her with a gunshot wound to the head at her apartment on 96th St. near Astoria Blvd. In East Elmhurst around 9:20 p.m. Friday.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
Cops discovered Dashanna Donovan, 21, lying in the bathroom doorway of a row house on 96th St. between Astoria Blvd. and 30th Ave. in East Elmhurst on Friday night. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
“He had a motive. He knew why. He knew what he was doing,” Donovan’s mother, Helena Hypolite, said of her daughter’s attacker, later offering a heartbreaking eulogy.
“Dashanna was truly special and unique to me because of her unwavering kindness, genuine compassion and positive attitude,” Hypolite stated. “She consistently went above and beyond to support those around her, bringing warmth and comfort that made everyone feel valued. Her resilience and dedication during difficult times inspired me, and her infectious smile could brighten any room.
“I am grateful to have been her mom and to have experienced her remarkable spirit firsthand. My daughter didn’t deserve this, and no one does. Those who didn’t give life should not have the power to take it away. It is selfish.”
Donovan had just gotten off work at McDonald’s and was sitting outside her home, talking on the phone with a friend before the fatal confrontation, Hypolite said police told her.
“She was scared, because she run,” Hypolite said.
“She was sitting in the yard on the phone. She saw the gentleman come in with the mask on. And she ran in the house and he ran behind her. And then she was shot in the bathroom,” Hypolite said.
Police confirmed Donovan was found collapsed in the bathroom doorway, suggesting she was trying to escape her attacker when she was gunned down.
Cops could not immediately say if the gunman wore a mask, but said Donovan was the intended target.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
Cops discovered Dashanna Donovan, 21, lying in the bathroom doorway of a row house on 96th St. between Astoria Blvd. and 30th Ave. in East Elmhurst on Friday night. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
The gunman fired multiple shots, according to police and witnesses. Shell casings were recovered at the scene, police said.
Donovan moved into the apartment, where she lived with her aunt, about three months ago, her mother said. She had recently moved back to New York after living for a year with her father in South Carolina.
“She just moved back here from South Carolina. So I don’t know what friends she had made, ex-friends she might have, you know,” Hypolite said.
Hypolite described her daughter as a “loving” young woman who liked to get dressed up and dance, and was an “excellent” driver. Donovan had three younger brothers.
“They need to just stop, all this gun violence,” Donovan’s weeping mother said. “Killing is not the way. Anger clouds your judgment.”
There have been no arrests or anyone taken into custody, police said Sunday evening, as the investigation continues.
Originally Published: September 14, 2025 at 9:04 PM EDT
