Ma’Khia Bryant is a 16-year-old girl who was shot and killed by Columbus, Ohio, police a few minutes before the Derek Chauvin verdict was announced in Minneapolis.
Bryant’s name was confirmed by her family to ABC6 and other local news stations. The circumstances of the shooting are still under investigation. The shooting happened on April 20, 2021, around 3:45 p.m. Some sites gave her name as Makiah Bryant, Makiyah Bryant, or Makhia Bryant, but her mother confirmed to 10tv reporter Lacey Crisp that the correct spelling is Ma’khia Bryant. Other reports gave her age as 15, but her mother told local journalists she is 16.
A woman who said she was Bryant’s aunt expressed great anger at the scene, saying her niece was a loving person who didn’t deserve to die “like a dog in the street.” Extremely disturbing videos emerged from the scene, some of which you can watch below, but be aware they are graphic and troubling.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Police Responded to a Call of an Attempted Stabbing; Ma’Khia’s Mother Says She Was an Honor Roll Student
According to ABC6, the call came in for an attempted stabbing at 3000 block of Legion Lane. 10TV wrote that police responded for a disturbance.
Crisp wrote, “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.”
“This is the racist a*s b*tch that shot this poor f*cking girl,” a woman said in a live stream video on Facebook. She said the officer said the girl “tried to stab him.”
That’s someone’s f***ing daughter b**ch,” one woman said in an extremely graphic live stream. You can watch it here but be aware it’s very disturbing.
A woman’s sobbing is heard in the disturbing video. It’s not clear whether the officer pictured in the above video is the same officer who shot Bryant, however.
2. Bryant’s Family Says She Called Police for Help
FacebookMa’Khia Bryant
According to 10tv, Bryant’s family says the teen called police because “girls were fighting outside her house.”
Police have not yet provided a detailed accounting of what they believe occurred. The officer’s name has not been released as the situation is still unfolding.
3. The Mayor Says There is Body Cam Video
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. BCI is on the scene conducting an independent investigation . . .
— Mayor Andrew Ginther (@MayorGinther) April 20, 2021
The Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther confirmed the girl had died. “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. BCI is on the scene conducting an independent investigation,” he wrote on Twitter, “as they do with all CPD-involved shootings. We will share information that we can as soon as it becomes available. I’m asking for residents to remain calm and allow BCI to gather the facts.”
Just over an hour before, the mayor was weighing in on the Chauvin verdict (a jury found him guilty, including of the most serious charge, in the death of George Floyd.)
“This verdict is the best outcome following the tragic and unnecessary loss of life. It brings some measure of justice for those who knew and loved George Floyd, but it will not restore his life,” wrote Ginther. “Nor will it erase the centuries of racial injustice that continues to plague our nation. As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’ Today the system worked.”
4. People Expressed Great Upset 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
— Alexis Moberger (@alexiswsyx6) April 20, 2021
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.
5. Bryant’s Aunt Called Her a ‘Good Kid’ Who ‘Didn’t Deserve to Die Like a Dog in the Street’
WARNING: Video contains strong language. A woman near Legion Lane in South Columbus says her niece was killed earlier tonight after an officer involved shooting. Police still haven’t confirmed the victim. https://t.co/kBtSPxc6Xh pic.twitter.com/eTpmyWsoZK
— WSYX ABC 6 (@wsyx6) April 20, 2021
A woman who said she was Bryant’s aunt described her as a good person and expressed great anger at her death. Be forewarned the video contains expletives.
“You ain’t going to have my niece go out like that. Either you report the truth or you don’t report nothing,” she told reporters at the scene.
“She was a good kid. She was loving. Yeah she had issues, but that’s okay. All of us go through sh*t. She was 15 mother f**king years old. She didn’t deserve to die like a dog in the street.”
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