A police officer shot and killed a 15-year-old Black girl while responding to an attempted stabbing call, with witnesses claiming the girl had dropped the knife before the officer shot her four times, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
Family members identified the girl as Makiyah Bryant, who reportedly lived in a foster home in the Southeast Side neighborhood. She apparently got into an argument with another person in the home and allegedly tried to stab the person with a kitchen knife.
Police were called around 4:35 p.m. local time, just minutes before the verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial was announced. A responding officer reportedly shot the girl four times. She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
A woman who identified herself as the victim’s aunt identified the victim as Bryant and said that the girl had lived in a foster home around the corner from her house. She said the girl had dropped the knife before police shot her.
Local police called the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to investigate the incident. A Columbus city council committee was meeting when the report of the shooting came in. The topic of the meeting: a new civilian review board to investigate police officers’ use of force episodes.