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Was Ma'Khia Bryant in foster care? Shocked neighbors say 'decent' foster mom was at work during shooting

Bryant's foster mom, who is known for taking in many girls over the years, said that she didn't want to talk about the incident anymore

Ma'Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old foster child, was shot and killed by a Columbus police officer just minutes before the jury's verdict in Derek Chauvin's trial was read out. Bryant was a foster child who allegedly got into an argument with another foster child just moments before her death.

Bryant, 16, was in foster care and was under the supervision of Franklin County Children Services, according to a statement released by the organization. In the release, they said, “This was a tragic incident and FCCS is continuing its involvement with the family throughout this difficult time,” while naming Bryant and saying she was fatally shot in Southeast Columbus. Since then, several members of her family have come forward to share information about the deceased teen and the incident, much of which the police is yet to confirm.

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Was Ma'Khia Bryant in foster care?

The girl's aunt, Hazel Bryant, told Dispatch that her niece lived in a foster home on Legion Lane, north of Chatterton Road on the east side of Columbus, and had gotten into an argument with someone there. According to her, several adult women arrived at the foster home and began an altercation with the adolescent, who then sought assistance from the police, her biological father and her grandmother. She said her niece had grabbed a knife to defend herself, adding that she had dropped it before the officer shot her multiple times, according to Newsweek. It was Hazel who identified Ma'Khia as the victim.

Don Brinson, a man who lives across the street and who doesn't know Bryant, said he knows the foster mother well and added that she's a decent person who has always done the right thing for the children and teenagers she takes in, according to Dispatch. The woman had fostered many girls over the years. He, however, added that the children would sometimes be out smoking and sometimes they'd be talking to neighborhood boys while the foster mother was at work. But he had never seen or been concerned about anything like what occurred so tragically with Bryant.

His son, Donavon, who bought the house from the elder Brinson, said he was not concerned when he pulled into his driveway after running errands on Tuesday afternoon, April 20, and saw a commotion among some girls outside. He said the woman kitty-corner across the street had fostered a number of girls for several years.

"They were calling each other the B-word, so I figured it was just a girl fight," Brinson said in the report. He said that things escalated soon and after that everything happened fast. His 26-second garage surveillance video taken from a distance shows up to seven people in front of the foster home or emerging from inside as a police car and a police SUV approach. He turned the video over to the police.

The foster mother answered the door on Wednesday morning, April 21, but told a Dispatch reporter that she was at work at the time of the incident and that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Ma'khia Bryant proudly announced to her mother just days before the fatal confrontation that she had made the honor roll, a report in the NY Daily News stated. Paula Bryant last saw her adolescent daughter alive on Thursday, April 15. Ma'khia was in foster care at the time, but her mother told WBNS that she had hoped to reunite with her children in the near future.

“We hugged each other. She said ‘Mommy, I made honor roll,” Bryant told the news station. “She said ‘Mommy, I’m looking forward to coming home.” Paula added: "She was a very loving, peaceful little girl. Ma'Khia had a motherly nature about her, she promoted peace and that's something that I want to always to be remembered." She added that her daughter called for the police for protection, not for a homicide.

'She needed mental health support'

Twitter users wondered why she was placed in foster care. "Do you think Makhia Bryant would still be here if she wasn’t in foster care, if she had two loving parents that raised her in a positive nuturing environment?" said one. "Makhia Bryant didn’t deserve to die. She needed the mental health and child support services our country was supposed to provide way before she was put in that deadly and tragic situation. We need better systems of foster care and preventive health for our children. #MakhiaBryant," said Dr Eugene Gu, founder of CoolQuit which is fighting tobacco addiction through telemedicine.