Ma'Khia Bryant will be laid to rest in same church that honored police victims Casey Goodson and Andre Hill
Nearly a week after 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant was fatally shot by Columbus cop Nicholas Reardon, her body will be laid to rest this coming Friday on April 30. Bryant died mid-altercation with older foster children from the same home she was living in.
The argument over keeping the house clean had escalated when cops responded to multiple 911 calls from the location. They found Bryant allegedly lunging at the other women with a knife. Reardon fired four shots, killing Bryant on the spot - thus sparking nationwide fury and Black Lives Matter protests, especially since the incident happened the same day ex-cop Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd.
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Bryant will be laid to rest in the First Church of God, in the 3000 block of Refugee Road in Columbus, Ohio. This is the same church where late Casey Goodson Jr and late Andre Hill were honored with services after the two Black men were killed by Central Ohio law enforcement in the recent past. While additional details of the service are reportedly still being finalized, Bishop Timothy Clarke, the senior pastor at the First Church of God, revealed the news of the funeral, adding that the viewing will also take place amidst the service.
Bryant was the 34th person to be shot and killed by law enforcement in Columbus, the capital city of Ohio, in the last six years. On April 20, Columbus police were called to break up a domestic disturbance on Legion Lane, just hours after the momentous Minneapolis verdict announced Derek Chauvin guilty for George Floyd's death.
Reardon's decision to shoot Bryant four times was followed by officers at the scene immediately administering life-saving measures to Ma'Khia Bryant, as medics rushed to the scene.
Bryant was then taken to Mt Carmel East in critical condition where she eventually succumbed to the bullets. Harrowing bodycam footage from the shooting that was released in the aftermath showed how quick and chaotic the situation was - thus leaving social media divided about what officer Reardon should have done, given the circumstances. While most have slammed Reardon's decision on how to tackle the situation, others have commended him for saving the other Black girl's life in the altercation by shooting Bryant who was allegedly about to stab her with a knife.
As the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation continues investigating the shooting, both Goodson Jr and Hill's cases of police shootings remain open. In December 2020, Goodson Jr was killed by Frankling County Sheriff Deputy Jason Meade, a 17-year-veteran, for displaying a gun and not complying.
However several details of the shooting are still murky - such as the details of the gun police claim they found at the scene, and whether or not Goodson was shot in the back, as claimed by his family. Hill, too, was killed in December 2020, by former Columbus officer Adam Coy who was also responding to a 911 call about suspicious vehicle activity from a neighbour who claimed someone inside an SUV was turning the car on and off. Goodson Jr and Hill's deaths were just a little over two weeks apart.