Community mourns popular barber, mom

A woman shot and killed when a suspect fired multiple times into a central Toledo crowd was remembered yesterday as a fixture of the black community and one of the most popular, sought-after barbers in the city.

Racole “Coco” Hill, 42, of South Toledo, died of internal bleeding after a single shot severed a major artery, according to Dr. James Patrick, Lucas County coroner. The bullet entered at the base of her neck and lodged near her spine, Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre said. Her death is the 18th homicide in Toledo this year.

During her 20-year career as a barber and stylist, Ms. Hill served many of her clients from the time they were children, including NFL wide receiver and fellow Scott High School alumnus Nate Washington. He was with the Pittsburgh Steelers when she groomed him before the 2009 Super Bowl.

“I know what made her the best. It was because she wanted to be the best at everything,” her sister Felicia Hill, 43, said.

“Not to be a competitor to defeat you and hurt you, but just to be the best so that when people look at her, they can say, ‘Wow, man, she works hard.'”

Funeral arrangements are pending at House of Day Funeral Service.

Ms. Hill probably was not meant to be the target of gunfire in front of 1127 Fernwood Ave. about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Toledo Police Sgt. Phil Toney said, adding that the incident probably was gang-related.

Chief Navarre declined to comment on who may have been the target.

Ms. Hill had just arrived at a party after work and was talking to friends outside when two suspects appeared between two houses a few doors down. Her keys were still in the ignition when one started shooting. She was dead before police arrived, Sergeant Toney said.

Chief Navarre attended a candlelight vigil held for her in the 1100 block of Fernwood last night. Attendance swelled from 100 to more than 200 as the group marched to demonstrate in front of her salon, the unisex Kings & Queens, 1206 Hawley St.

Ms. Hill's oldest sister, Sandy Welch, raised her hands and led the group in a chant — “She's loved, yes” — and asked for prayers for her nephews, Deshawn Hill, 22, and Gregory “Little Greg” Hannibal, 20.

Gerald Rose, civil rights activist and leader of the Atlanta-based New Order National Human Rights Organization, knew Ms. Hill from the year he spent at Scott High School and her childhood involvement in Family Baptist Church, which was led by his father, the Rev. Floyd Rose.

Representatives of the local chapter of his organization were present at last night's vigil.

“As a community activist, I'm going to push extra hard to get justice served for the Hill family,” Mr. Rose said in a phone interview. “Her life was taken, and her rights were violated.”

Ms. Hill was mother to three grown children and a grandmother who recently celebrated her birthday. She was vice president of a nonprofit organization, the Isaiah Thomas Giving Foundation, Inc., established by her friend Mary Beal in memory of her own son, who drowned.

She was a former Scott cheerleader and a proud alumna, volunteering the last four years as an organizer of school reunions. She grew up in a home on Fulton Street behind the campus.

During a gathering last month for alumni from all Scott graduating classes, she performed a silly rap she set to the beat of LL Cool J's “I'm Bad,” bragging that she was the best barber in town.

She stole the show, said Arianne Moore, 32, who first looked up to Ms. Hill as her camp counselor at Grace Community Center two decades ago.

“She just made sure everybody had a good time when she was around, never a dull moment,” Ms. Moore said.

Kim Wright, 42, of St. Louis said she was stunned to learn yesterday that Ms. Hill was gone. The two became fast friends in the sixth grade and kept in touch after Ms. Wright moved out of state six years ago.

Ms. Hill had a deep Christian faith and would want the community to forgive her shooter, Ms. Wright said in a phone interview.

“She would have fed him, she would have prayed over him, she would have counseled him,” she said of Ms. Hill's shooter.

“And I'm just going to pray over the person that did this because that's what God wants me to do.”

Toledo police Detective Kermit Quinn said he favored Ms. Hill's cuts as “the smoothest in town” for the last 15 years.

During community events through her church, she would volunteer to give free haircuts for children, the detective recalled.

“I'm still having trouble grasping it,” Detective Quinn said of her death. “But we're going to catch him. We're going to find out who did it, and we're going to need a lot of help from the public.”

Contact Bridget Tharp at:btharp@theblade.comor 419-724-6086 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 419-724-6086 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

The death of Ms. Hill brings to 18 the number of homicides reported in Toledo in 2010.

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Homicide Report: Interactive on Toledo-area killings