Mom Starting a New Life After Abusive Relationship Is Allegedly Shot Dead by Her Ex — Before He Flees on a Bus

Melissa Wallace-Pulliam, 44, was fatally shot by a man her daughter claims brutally abused her for years

Melissa Wallace-Pulliam (left) and surveillance footage from bus where her killer was fatally shot.

A 44-year-old woman who was fatally shot at a bus stop last week was rebuilding her life after years of abuse, according to her daughter.

Melissa Wallace-Pulliam, 44, was fatally shot in Washington, D.C. on June 16, the Metropolitan Police of Washington, D.C. said in a statement.

Her suspected killer, 44-year-old Shawn Dewayne Williams, was killed by police shortly afterward, according to the statement.

Investigators say police responding to the scene were informed that Williams had escaped on a bus.

Police stopped the bus at another intersection and boarded it, where they allege Williams brandished a gun. Officers then fatally shot him.

Security footage from the bus has since been released, showing an officer approaching a man authorities say is Williams while he sat onboard. As other passengers exit the bus, the man appears to make a brief movement before the officer draws his weapon.

Wallace-Pulliam’s daughter opened up to WUSA9 about her mother’s journey recovering from a years-long abusive relationship with her partner — the man suspected of killing her.

“It has been abusive since day one,” Jai-Lynn Pulliam told WUSA9. “It has been fractured ribs, chipped teeth.”

“He would choke her, break through the door, he would punch her,” Pulliam said, adding the violence had escalated so much she had feared an outcome such as this.

Wallace-Pulliam was in the process of moving on, carving out a new life for herself. She had recently gotten a new apartment and had started a new job.

“She was on a new path and she was happy where she was,” Pulliam told WUSA9.

On the day of the killing, Wallace-Pulliam was on her way home from work.

Pulliam, who says her mother kept them away from Williams because she knew he was dangerous, remains in shock and grief.

“I never in my wildest dreams would think that my mother would get killed at a bus stop, just trying to move on with her life,” Pulliam told WUSA9.

Wallace-Pulliam’s family has shared online tributes for the beloved mother and sister.

“One thing I will always say about my sister: she had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I have ever known. She would go to the ends of the earth for the people she truly loved,” her brother, Trent Clopton, wrote on Facebook.

Clopton also made a callout to abusive men: “Men, if you ever feel the need to put your hands on a woman or take her life because your emotions are unregulated, I am begging you: put your pride and ego aside and get help.”

“She was a very colorful and vibrant woman,” Pulliam told WUSA9. “I feel like he was a coward. He was a coward.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Cre: People