One week ago, a Savannah, Georgia, woman was killed during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pursuit.

It’s not the first time in recent weeks that a bystander has been killed by ICE. However, this story—one involving a Black bystander—hasn’t taken off with the same ferocity as the others that have flooded our feeds and torn at our collective heartstrings. In fact, many people haven’t even heard about the recent incident.

Linda Davis, a beloved 52-year-old mother of five, was struck by a truck driven by a man who was fleeing immigration officers. Davis taught kindergarten and first grade at Herman W. Hesse K-8 School in Savannah’s southside suburbs, less than a half mile from where she was killed. 

The school’s principal, Alonna McMullen, mourned her death in a statement to PBS. “It was extremely difficult to tell 5- and 6-year-olds that the teacher they loved and cherished will not be returning to see them,” McMullen said. “To see the looks on their faces, it broke my heart.” 

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Davis’s family also released a statement about her tragic and untimely passing, but noted that they would not yet “speculate about the circumstances” that led to it. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), was quick to blame Oscar Vasquez Lopez, the suspect who was fleeing ICE when his car collided with Davis’s.

In a statement, DHS described Lopez as “a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala who was issued a final order of removal by a federal judge in 2024.” 

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