'She wanted to really have an impact': West Des Moines homicide victim remembered by local rapper

Sakira Bonner wanted to personally thank the governor for visiting her Des Moines high school, so she got on Facebook.

"We don't get this in Chicago, so I appreciate you for coming to Scavo and showing us that you appreciate us and that you listen," Bonner said in a May 2018 video addressed to Gov. Kim Reynolds while sitting next to her twin sister. 

Bonner, 18, was killed late Friday night in West Des Moines, officials in the suburban city said. West Des Moines police are investigating her death as a homicide, with assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

West Des Moines police responded to a motorist's report at about 11:40 p.m. of a woman lying in the road at South 64th Street and Coachlight Drive, west of Interstate 35 and near a busy retail and residential district.

As officers were en route, they also received reports of gunshots fired in the area, according to a West Des Moines Police Department news release. 

Bonner was transported to a hospital where she died. Her cause of death was not released.

"She wanted to really have an impact," said local rapper Will Keeps, one of Bonner's Scavo teachers last spring. "She came to my class all the time when she was at Scavo. She loved fashion. She was good people." 

Keeps made a music video featuring some of his students, including Bonner, who wore a blue jacket in the YouTube performance. He said they formed a bond because, unlike some kids who thought what he did was corny, Bonner thought it was impactful. 

"She really loved that she saw a black man like me trying to fight for everybody," he said. "She loved that. That's one of the reasons we became so close." 

He said she could be shy at first, but was relaxed and more open once people got to know her. She watched her surroundings and listened before she spoke — signs of her maturity.

"She was just unbelievably cool," Keeps said. "Everybody loved her. She didn't have no beef with nobody." 

Bonner's family could not be reached by the Register as of Saturday evening. 

Her death is the first homicide in West Des Moines since October 2016, West Des Moines police Sgt. Dan Wade said. 

Police have not released any additional information about the investigation or potential suspects. 

Follow the Register on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Anna Spoerre is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. She can be contacted at aspoerre@dmreg.com, 515-284-8387 or on Twitter at @annaspoerre.