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Officials said a teen girl was fatally shot by police in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday afternoon, shortly before a jury found Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, guilty in the murder of George Floyd last year.
The death of the girl cast a pall over public statements that Mr. Floyd had received justice, and it sparked protests in Ohio’s capital city.
The city’s mayor, Andrew Ginther, confirmed the shooting on Twitter, saying there was police body camera footage of the altercation and urging residents to keep the peace as protesters descended on the scene.
Mr. Ginther stated, “This afternoon, a young woman tragically died.” “All of the details are unknown to us. A body-worn camera captured the incident. Right now, we’re tackling it.”
The shooting occurred around 4:45 p.m. in the southeastern part of Columbus, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Officers were responding to a 911 call about an attempted stabbing. Approximately 20 minutes later, the Chauvin verdict was announced.
Mr. Ginther stated that an independent investigation would be conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, as is customary whenever a police officer shoots someone.
The victim was identified as her 15-year-old niece by a woman interviewed by The Dispatch. Hazel Bryant, the woman, told the newspaper that her niece was in a foster home and had gotten into a fight with another resident.
Ms. Bryant claimed that her niece had a knife but had dropped it before being shot multiple times by a police officer, according to the newspaper.
On Tuesday night, messages seeking comment from the Columbus Division of Police were not immediately returned. According to local news outlets, a crowd of demonstrators gathered outside the city’s police station.
The teen’s death drew widespread attention, including from the Floyd family’s attorney, Ben Crump, amid a continuing reckoning over police accountability and systemic racism.
“As we all sighed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting as @ColumbusPolice killed an unarmed 15-year-old Black girl,” Mr. Crump said. “Another one of our children has been kidnapped!” “Once again, there’s a hashtag.”
