COLUMBUS–A Columbus police officer shot dead a black teenage girl Tuesday afternoon just as a conviction was handed down in the Derek Chauvin murder case, a family member said.
The victim of the shooting has not been officially identified, but was identified by a family member as 15-year-old Makiyah Bryant early Tuesday night.
“She was a good kid. She was loving, ”Hazel Bryant, who said the child was her niece, told reporters on the east side of Columbus. “She was 15 years old. She did not deserve to die like a dog in the street. ‘
Bryant said her niece lived in a foster home on the east side of Columbus where the fatal shooting took place. According to her, several adult women came to the foster home and started an argument with the teenager, who called the police and her biological father and grandmother for help. She grabbed a knife to defend herself, Bryant said.
According to Bryant, who said she was told about the events by Makiyah’s grandmother and father, Makiyah was repulsing a physical assault in front of the house when police arrived, and she already had the knife in the garden. drop. But police shot her four times without any warning, she said.
“The police are going to lie. “I am so grateful that someone from the family was on the scene,” Bryant said. “The police are going to lie. The police are going to cover themselves up. They do not care. At this point, I feel like they’re just out to kill black people. They are not here to protect and serve. It does not happen. It’s been a long time coming. They are not here to protect and serve. They are here to kill black people. ‘
Bryant disputes information reported in local media that Makiyah tried to stab someone and appears to be a threat, saying Columbus police released false information to explain the shooting. “I’m overwhelmed,” Hazel said. “It’s awful.”
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Bryant’s great-grandmother, Ila, compared Makiyah’s death to that of Breonna Taylor, who was shot dead in March 2020 during a raid on her apartment.
‘It seems to me that this is what the police wanted to do to kill her. I’m just trying to find out why, ”said Ila Bryant. “We need to remember to love each other.”
A woman identified as Tay Jones wrote on Facebook that she had seen the shooting and allegedly posted video of the scene. She said the 15-year-old had a knife “because someone tried to jump on her.” The white police officer who shot her, according to Jones, never told her to put the knife down.
The teenager was transported to a nearby hospital, Mount Carmel East, where she sustained the injuries, local station NBC 4 reported. The department reportedly contacted the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to review the use of lethal force. The police’s public information office did not respond to a request for comment.
The 911 call that police brought to the scene allegedly called an attempted stabbing.
A group of about 20 residents soon gathered in the neighborhood at the intersection of Legion Lane and Templar Street, near where police cordoned off the scene of the incident. The group sang, “Black Lives Matter!” and “No justice, no peace!” and “No racist police!” Three neighbors who said they did not want to speak on the record told The Daily Beast that police had killed a 15-year-old girl.
Video of the scene shortly after the shooting showed someone in jeans and bright sneakers lying on the ground while bystanders shouted at police.
The murder took place just as the verdict was announced in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer. Chauvin was convicted on all three charges of killing George Floyd, an unarmed, 46-year-old Black man, in May 2020.
Local Columbus activist KC Taynor of Exodus Nation, told The Daily Beast the latest murder of police has made it impossible to celebrate the verdict on Chauvin.
“It’s another murder,” he said. “They are animals. They treat us like animals. ”