A teenage girl was fatally shot Tuesday afternoon by police in Columbus, Ohio, officials said shortly before a jury found guilty of the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin during the murder of George Floyd last year.
The death of the girl had an immediate overture over public allegations that right in the case of Mr. Floyd was committed and touched on protests in the capital of Ohio.
The Columbus Police Department did not immediately provide details about the shooting, which was confirmed. Twitter by City Mayor Andrew Ginther, who said there was a recording of the camera’s body room of the confrontation and urged residents to keep the peace as protesters descended on the scene.
“This afternoon, a young woman tragically lost her life,” he said. Ginther said. “We do not know all the details. There is camera footage of the incident. We are working to review this as soon as possible. ”
The Columbus Dispatch reported that police responded to a 911 call about an attempted stabbing when the shooting occurred in the southeastern part of Columbus around 4:45 p.m. The verdict in the Chauvin case was announced about 20 minutes later.
Mr. Ginther said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will conduct an independent investigation, which he says is standard when an officer shoots someone.
“We will share information we can as soon as it becomes available,” he said. “I urge residents to remain calm and allow BCI to gather the facts.”
A woman interviewed by The Dispatch identified the victim, who was Black, as her 15-year-old niece. The woman, Hazel Bryant, told the newspaper that her niece lived in a foster home and had an argument with someone else in the home.
Me. Bryant said her niece had a knife, but insisted the girl dropped the knife before being shot several times by a police officer, the newspaper reported.
The Columbus Police Department did not immediately respond to messages Tuesday night. A crowd of protesters gathered outside the city police building, local news media reported.
The death of the teenager quickly received attention, including from Ben Crump, the lawyer for the Floyd family, amid a constant reckoning over police liability and systemic racism.
‘While today we are breathing a collective sigh of relief, a community in Columbus feels the sting of another police force like @ ColumbusPolice ‘killed an unarmed 15-year-old black girl,’ said Mr. Crump said. “Another child lost! Another hat brand. ”
Jack Begg contributed research.