Shooting victim sees outpouring of help from businesses, coworkers

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Less than a week before Christmas, Heather Quiggle was shot six times by an ex-boyfriend while she slept in her Johns Creek home on Plantation Bridge Drive.

She and her boyfriend, who was shot three times, survived the attack. Her son fled the house unharmed.

Quiggle’s coworker at Keller Williams Realty, Allison Cutler, said she made it her priority to keep Quiggle’s life moving while she was in the hospital.

Cutler said Quiggle, a Realtor, had offers on a home listing, and when she and coworker Andrea Wright went to Quiggle’s house after the shooting, there was still food on the stove.

“Your life just stops,” Cutler said. “You can just imagine, like, if you go to bed tonight, and you don’t wake up the next morning and people have to come into your house, that’s what it looks like.”

Quiggle was shot by her ex-boyfriend Abdul Batin Rashid Dec. 19, 2022. Rashid had fled the scene and was found dead the next day in Sandy Springs, the victim of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

Meanwhile, Wright and Cutler did not know where Quiggle was or what her condition was.

“She had been able to get in touch with her sister, and her sister had given her my cell phone number because the shooter had taken her phone,” Wright said. “And so, she didn’t have anybody’s phone numbers.”

Cutler, who described Quiggle as a hard worker always willing to help, said when she got out of surgery, Quiggle called Wright first to tell her she had an open listing.

“Honestly, I’m not used to being on the receiving end of help,” Quiggle said. “I’m the one that wants to give the help.”

Cutler and Wright organized a GoFundMe campaign for repairs to Quiggle’s home and to pay her bills for a year. By the end of January, the fundraiser had raised nearly $15,000.

Agents who work with Quiggle at the Keller Williams South Forsyth office gave her a new bed, and 13 people volunteered to work on her home. Another agent in the Duluth office provided an air fryer.

“When one of the Keller Williams family members was knocked down, they called upon the community, which came together, to help put my home back together,” Quiggle said. “That allows me to put my life back together as well, and seeing the community come together gives me a renewed faith in humanity.”

Metro Atlanta businesses also provided free services and goods to prepare Quiggle’s home for her return.

Perimeter Roofing installed a new roof with no out-of-pocket costs. Sundial Plumbing replaced her cracked toilet and worked on her plumbing; and Brad Chapman of Everlast Waterproofing repaired her sheetrock and provided a fresh coat of paint to the house’s interior.

Quiggle has also received a new sliding door and dog door from Meyer Construction; landscaping services courtesy of Adams Landscaping; and kitchen cabinets from Provencal Staging.

Gary Skinner, co-owner of Junk Express, said his business removed any items tied to Rashid. Quiggle was not charged for the services.

“I think it’s important for people to kind of come together and, like, support one another, regardless if it’s a good time or a bad time,” Skinner said. “We all need to be doing that all the time.”

Recovery has taken longer than Quiggle expected. She is staying with a coworker until the renovations are complete and expects to return home in the next two weeks.

Moving back into her home, she said, will also mark a big reunion for her and her son who fled the home during the shooting. Both have been separated since.

She said she hopes her experience can help others find joy in life.

“I wanted to somehow help people understand, just even in the domestic violence part, if somebody hurts you once, that they’ll do it again,” Quiggle said. “I feel like even though this experience has been very painful, and we still have a long way to go in healing, I’ve just tried to remain positive.”