DALLAS, Texas — One of the few witnesses connected to the shooting and killing of 26-year-old Botham Jean exclusively opened up about the night that changed her forever in a YouTube interview that was uploaded last week.
Jean was killed in his own apartment by former Dallas cop Amber Guyger on Sept. 6.
Guyger, who lived beneath Jean at South Side Flats, claimed that she thought she was walking into her own apartment after her shift when it was actually Jean's on the 4th floor.
Guyger claimed that she thought Jean was a burglar and opened fire. Jean was killed, and Guyger was later terminated, and then indicted on a murder charge.
The aftermath of the shooting was captured on a cell phone and posted to social media under the name "Bunny Babbs."
Babbs' video showed Guyger outside of Jean's apartment pacing frantically back and forth while on the phone.
It ultimately captured paramedics wheeling Jean's body out on a gurney, trying to save his life.
The video went viral, adding insight and context to a shooting that, in its infancy, was difficult for investigators, the community, Texas and America to understand.
WFAA and multiple other outlets reached out to Babbs several times to interview her, but she declined.
However, she recently sat down and did a 20-minute interview with Advise Media Network.
Advise Media Network is a YouTube channel headquartered out of Houston that discusses and commentates on news stories local, national and worldwide.
It primarily discusses stories that impact the African-American community. The channel has 1,000,000 subscribers and is hosted by Phillip Scott.
In the interview, Babbs' real name isn't revealed, but she takes Scott back to the night the shooting happened.
"I did hear the actual shot and that’s what prompted me to go outside and actually start recording the video," Babbs said.
"I heard everything prior to — some things I’m not at liberty to speak about," she said. "I did hear the actual gunshots, and I heard a male’s voice say, 'Oh my God why did you do that?' And then that’s when I went outside."
Babbs told Scott that she thought it was impossible for Guyger to confuse her apartment with Jean's home.
"The elevator, garage, the hallways – everything is marked with what floor you're on," Babbs said. "If she had to come from the garage, she would have had to walk down two pretty long hallways to get to his door."
"So she would have had plenty of indications to know she was on the fourth floor."
Babbs added that she uploaded the video because multiple conflicting stories of what happened that night reached her.
"I was hesitant," Babbs said. "I didn't want the attention on myself. But I felt compelled to do something, so I went ahead and uploaded the video."
She continued talking about the investigation, saying the Texas Rangers and other agencies reached out to her daily for statements.
"They came to me the very next day after the shooting, and they came continuously for at least two weeks straight," Babbs said.
She also confirmed that she spoke with the Dallas County District Attorney's Office and gave them her video.
Babbs then told Scott in the interview that her life went south after uploading her video.
She said some found out where she was employed (which is a pharmaceutical business she chose not to name) and began harassing the company.
"They were posting to the company's Facebook page, calling them, emailing the corporate office, and telling them I'm radical and anti-police," Babbs said.
"They simply told me that they didn't want their company associated with a high-profile case, and because of that they were letting me go."
Since Babbs didn't name her former employer, WFAA was unable to independently confirm she was terminated. But Babbs also told Scott she received death threats online.
"I did get a few threats from people saying they weren't going to leave any witnesses behind, and told me that I needed to watch my back and stuff like that," Babbs said.
"She's the one who actually pulled the trigger, that murdered somebody," Babbs said of Guyger. "It seems like she got so much support, and I got none."
Scott said that he reached out to Babbs through mutual friends who knew her for the interview.
"I just went into the conversation to listen," Scott told WFAA. "I think no one should have their life turned upside down for just recording a video, for just being a citizen."
Babbs has since started a GoFundMe to help herself get back on her feet and to also fund a possible book about the night Jean was killed.
As of Wednesday, over $20,000 had been raised. Scott said donations rose after he posted her interview to YouTube.
WFAA tried to reach Babbs, but she didn't respond to our efforts.
The district attorney's office and Guyger's attorneys did not comment on Babbs' interview.
Everyone involved in the case is currently under a gag order.