How old was Ma'Khia Bryant when she's shot dead? Confusion over exact age of Ohio teenager killed by police
Ma'Khia Bryant was shot and killed by a Columbus, Ohio, police officer shortly before the Derek Chauvin verdict was announced. Police say she was armed with a knife and released bodycam footage that showed her attacking two other girls. However, there was some confusion over Bryant's age when she lost her life.
Bryant's family members confirmed her name to ABC6 and other local news stations as authorities investigated the shooting, which took place on April 20, 2021. Some sites named her Makiah Bryant, Makiyah Bryant or Makhia Bryant, but her mother confirmed to 10TV reporter Lacey Crisp that the correct spelling is Ma’Khia Bryant. While several reports gave her age as 15, her mother told local journalists she was 16.
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A distraught woman at the scene claiming to be Bryant's aunt said her niece was a loving person who didn't deserve to die "like a dog in the street." Protests broke out in the city over the girl's death, according to Heavy.
BREAKING: here’s the police body camera video just released by Columbus OH police showing an officer shoot and killed a 16 year old girl this afternoon. The police chief released no further details Other than to say the officer took action to protect another girl in the community pic.twitter.com/WXEzKIJRQ7
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) April 21, 2021
Dispatch received a call about an attempted stabbing in the 3000 block of Legion Lane in Columbus around 3:45 pm April 20, 2021, ABC6 reported. Intermin chief of police Michael Woods said, “Normally we don’t provide information this soon, but we understand the public’s need, desire and expectation to have transparency about what happened.”
Officers were dispatched to the address at 4.32 pm, he said, after a caller said “females were there trying to stab them and put their hands on them" and that there was a “large commotion going on in the background” in the 911 call. “The caller reported a female was trying to stab them, then the caller hung up,” per the Columbus Dispatch.
Crisp wrote on Twitter, “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 4:30 pm today.”
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 @ColumbusPolice on Legion Lane at 4:30p today. pic.twitter.com/0FfbQVEgSD
— Lacey Crisp (@LaceyCrisp) April 21, 2021
“This is the racist a** b**** that shot this poor f****** girl,” a woman said in a live stream posted on Facebook. “That’s someone’s f****** daughter b****,” the woman added.
Tay Jones, who shared the video on Facebook, wrote: “They shot a 15 year old black girl 4 times in the chest f*** 12!!!” Facebook later removed a post in which she wrote, “This is the f****** that shot her her 4 times in the chest for having a knife because somebody tried to jump her didn’t tell her to put it down didn’t ask questions or nothing & SHE the one called them for help. Smh F*** 12!!!!”
Bryant was a foster child who was under the care of the Franklin County Children Services, according to a statement. “This was a tragic incident and FCCS is continuing its involvement with the family throughout this difficult time,” FCCS said in the release, naming Bryant and noting how she was fatally shot by police in Southeast Columbus.