“City of Kokomo” star Koko Da doll was found shot dead Tuesday in Atlanta. She was 35 years old.

The Atlanta Police Department reported that Koko was found with a gunshot wound in southwest Atlanta shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Koko, whose first name is Rasheeda Williams, was a prominent transgender woman featured in the award-winning documentary “Kokomo City,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The film, which marks the feature debut of Grammy-nominated producer, singer and songwriter D. Smith, features a raw depiction of the lives of four black trans sex workers living in Atlanta and New York – Koko, Daniella Carter , Liyah Mitchell and Dominique Silver – as they confront the dichotomy between the black community and themselves, as well as the persistent threat of violence they face every day.

After the film premiered at Sundance, Koko – who was also a rapper – shared a thank you message to Smith and associate producer Dustin Lohman for giving him the opportunity to share his story. (“Kokomo City” is produced by Smith, Harris Doran and Bill Butler. Executive producers are Lena Waithe, Rishi Rajani, Stacy Barthe and William Melillo.)

“I will be the reason there are more opportunities and doors opening for transgender girls,” Koko wrote on Instagram. “What you’ve done here for me is going to save a lot of lives.”

In his review For Variety, chief critic Peter Debruge called the film “unforgettable”, praising Smith, who is also trans, and his subjects for “totally reframing the conversation” about their identity. “In its boundless approach,” Debruge wrote, “‘Kokomo City’ aims to explain why entrenched ideas about masculinity and gender roles make trans-ness so threatening.”

After winning the NEXT Audience and Innovator awards at Sundance, the documentary was acquired by Magnolia Pictures with plans for a theatrical release later this year. Following his great victories, Smith said Variety Matt Donnelly she was grateful to see the response to the three-dimensional characters in her film.

“In real life, trans women are funny. And we’re sad, and we’re sexy, and we have body parts that are our body parts. It’s time to embrace that. Enough with the fortresses that are built around us, preventing us from fully joining society,” she said.

“Kokomo City” then screened at the Berlin International Film Festival (where it again won the Audience Award), South by Southwest and was scheduled to screen Saturday as a headline selection at the Atlanta Film Festival.

The news of Koko’s death rocked the “Kokomo City” cast and filmmakers, who paid tribute to their friend on social media.

In a statement to Variety, Smith said: “Tuesday night, Rasheeda Williams was shot and killed in Atlanta. Rasheeda, aka Koko Da Doll, was the latest victim of violence against black transgender women. I created ‘Kokomo City’ because I wanted to show the fun, humanized and natural side of black trans women. I wanted to create images that didn’t show the trauma or murder statistics of transgender lives. I wanted to create something fresh and inspiring. I did it. We did it ! But here we are again. It is extremely difficult to process Koko’s passing, but as a team we are more encouraged than ever to inspire the world with her story. To show how beautiful and full of life she was. She will inspire generations to come and will never be forgotten.

“I never thought I would lose you, but here I am alone without you by my side”, Carter wrote on Instagram. “We’re sisters for life, we promised, but now that you’re gone, I don’t know what to do without you. I’m going crazy, I’m trying to hold on to stay strong, but it doesn’t feel right I’m waiting here, arms open wide, tears streaming down my face, ready for you to come back even if it takes for always my sister. I will really miss you sis.

Silver also released a tribute on instagram, writing: “My sister you are gone but you will never be forgotten! I’m struggling right now to grasp the fact that we just talked and now you’re not here by my side! We will get justice for you and please protect black trans women at all costs!

Mitchell wrote a series of posts on her Instagram Stories. “I’m still in disbelief. You deserved more. I’m sure you were born into a hateful world that didn’t understand you,” she wrote in one post. In another, she used “#Justice4Koko.”

The film’s producer, Doran, released a long tribute on Facebookalongside a video of Koko posing on the red carpet ahead of the film’s premiere at Sundance.

“I am absolutely devastated by the loss of our wonderful doll Koko Da. To know Koko was to love Koko. She was the sweetest, kindest and gentlest soul. This tragedy is simply unbearable to deal with” Doran wrote, “Koko was working so hard to come out. She’s brilliant in the movie and when you see her you will fall in love with her like we all have. But she had also discovered her gift for music. She was making amazing music, so much so that @lenawaithe even put one of his songs on his show Koko had been through so much and was doing the work and coming out Going from starring in a movie at Sundance to this in 4 months is beyond words.

The Sundance Film Festival also shared a tribute on social media: “We are saddened to learn of the passing of Rasheeda Williams aka Koko Da Doll. We were honored to have her at the festival this year with ‘Kokomo City,’ where she reminded black trans women, “We can do anything, we can be whatever we want to be. This is a tragic loss.”

In a press release after Koko’s death, the Atlanta Police Department said it was “investigating three violent crimes this year involving transgender women. While these individual incidents are unrelated, we are acutely aware of the epidemic violence against black and brown transgender women in America.