Dennis was walking on a street in Atlanta when Williams, a felon, attacked him, attempting to strangle him before throwing him in a ditch. The attack was interrupted by a passerby, who stopped the attack, causing Williams to flee. Ryan was riding his bike, when Williams attacked him, stabbing him more than a dozen times in the head and face. When questioned by the cops if he understood the charges against him, Williams said “Yea, murder, because of what they did to black people about giving them syphilis.” He also called one of the officers a “white devil”.