Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old black teenager, was shot and killed by police in the city of Columbus (Ohio) this Tuesday night.
The event, which sparked protests, occurred hours before the verdict was known in the trial for the death of George Floyd, another African-American killed as a result of police violence.
Authorities have released videos that appear to show the young woman attacking others with a knife before she was shot by a police officer.
The agent involved, who has not yet been identified, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, according to US media.
Police were called to an address in a southeastern area of the city around 4:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the Columbus Dispatch newspaper reported.
Images taken by police body cameras show an altercation with a group of people outside a house, before one of them, allegedly Bryant, attacked others with a knife.
Then, a police officer approaches and yells “get down” before shooting several times, fatally wounding the teenager.
The agent is heard saying “She had a knife, it went on her.” A passerby yells that it was just a girl.
Authorities said the police officer opened fire to save the life of another teenager, although a woman identified in local media as Bryant’s aunt said her niece was simply defending herself after being assaulted.
The officer fired several shots at the minor (up to four detonations can be heard in the recording), according to sources. The young woman fell to the ground next to a car that had been parked in the driveway, where body camera images showed a knife on the ground.
Hazel Bryant told local WSYX-TV: “She was a good girl. Yes, he had problems, but hey, he didn’t deserve to die like a dog in the street ”.
Speaking to local station WBNS-TV, the teenager’s mother, Paula Bryant, said she was “hurt” by what had happened and that her daughter was a “loving child.”
“This shouldn’t have happened,” he said. “I want answers.”
Paula Bryant added that her daughter, who was in foster care, was “looking forward to coming home.”
The name of the officer involved, who authorities say was relieved of duty while the shooting is being investigated, has not been made public.
The event occurred on the same day that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all charges for the asphyxiating death of African American George Floyd.
The death of Floyd at the hands of Chauvin, who for more than nine minutes imprisoned the victim’s neck with his knee, went around the world in May last year and sparked a huge wave of protests in the United States.
Despite almost a year, the police make the same mistake again, triggering a possible wave of protests again.