A black teenage girl was shot dead by police just as a guilty verdict was returned in the case of the officer who killed George Floyd.
A black teenage girl was shot dead by police just as a guilty verdict was returned in the case of the officer who killed George Floyd.
A black teenage girl was shot dead by police just as a guilty verdict was returned in the case of the officer who killed George Floyd.
Family of the teenager, named by local media as Ma'Khia Bryant, 16, said she had called the police for help because girls were fighting outside her house on Legion Lane in Columbus, Ohio.
A video circulated on social media which appeared to show a victim wearing jeans and trainers lying motionless on the ground as a police officer stood nearby. Witnesses say the girl was shot in the chest.
Crowds gathered near the scene shortly after the shooting, which occurred around 4.30pm, and began shouting "no racist police" and "enough is enough" at officers gathered.
“Ma’Khia had a motherly nature about her. She promoted peace,” said the 16 year-old girl’s mother, Paula. pic.twitter.com/vhBauZn3Kc
In another video broadcast from the scene, one of the officers yells back: "Blue lives matter".
"She was a good kid. She was loving," Hazel Bryant, who said the child was her niece, told reporters. "She was 16 years old. She didn't deserve to die like a dog in the street."
Local reporter Lacey Crisp wrote: "Paula Bryant tells me her 16 year-old daughter Ma'Khia Bryant was an honour roll student and a sweet child. Ma'Khia was shot and killed by a Columbus Division of Police officer on Legion Lane at 4.30pm today.
"This is the racist a** b**** that shot this poor f***ing girl," a woman said in a live stream video on Facebook. She said the officer said the girl "tried to stab him."
Bryant said police saw a knife on the ground near the girl's body that an officer had shot the teenager four times. It was not immediately clear if the knife was the victim's.
A black teenage girl was shot dead by police just as a guilty verdict was returned in the case of the officer who killed George Floyd.
Videos showed people expressing great anger at police at the scene. One man demanded to know whether there was body cam video.
"We're sick of being peaceful," a man told police. "No more being peaceful."
People used expletives at police at the scene.
More people asking police “were they wearing body cameras?” This as police are investigating an officer involved shooting on Legion Lane. One person died around 5:20 pm pic.twitter.com/ri7lNGfHup
The 911 call that brought police to the scene had reportedly cited an attempted stabbing.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther urged calm: "This afternoon a young woman tragically lost her life. We do not know all of the details. There is body-worn camera footage of the incident. We are working to review it as soon as possible.
"We will share information that we can as soon as it becomes available," he tweeted. "I'm asking for residents to remain calm and allow (investigators) to gather the facts."
Paula Bryant tells me her 16 year-old daughter Ma’Khia Bryant was an honor roll student and a sweet child. Ma’Khia was shot and killed by a Columbus Division of Police officer on Legion Lane at 4:30p today.
Police officers can be heard shouting "hey, get down" four times before firing his gun four times.
The wounded 16-year-old is then seen lying on the ground as police attended to her and radioed in for medical assistance.
A knife was found near her.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder in George Floyd's death last May.
US President Joe Biden says Floyd's death was "a murder in the full light of day and it ripped the blinders off" for all the world to see the problems with race and policing in the United States.
Biden says the verdict can be a giant step forward for the country against systemic racism.
Biden is lauding the officers who testified in the trial instead of closing ranks and keeping quiet. He says the verdict sends a strong message, but reform can't stop with just the verdict.
