WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2021) A police officer shot dead a 16-year-old black girl in Columbus, the US state of Ohio, and protesters began gathering outside the city's police building, local 10TV reported.
The police were called to the scene of the incident on Tuesday evening due to order violations. According to the family of the killed Makhia Bryant, she called the police for help because of a fight between girls near her house.
Bryant reportedly died in hospital where she was taken in critical condition.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said on Twitter: "This afternoon a young woman tragically lost her life. We do not know all of the details. There is body-worn camera footage of the incident. We are working to review it as soon as possible. BCI is on the scene conducting an independent investigation as they do with all CPD-involved shootings. We will share information that we can as soon as it becomes available. I'm asking for residents to remain calm and allow BCI to gather the facts."
This incident happened around the same time that the guilty verdict was announced in Minneapolis for the ex-policeman who killed African American George Floyd.
Earlier in the day, a US jury in the state of Minnesota found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in connection to Floyd's death last May.
While trying to arrest Floyd who was accused of using a fake $20 bill at a local convenience store, Chauvin, now 45, kneed on the neck of the African American man three times for almost a total of ten minutes. After complaining "I can't breathe" when Chauvin's knee was on his neck, Floyd became unconscious during the arrest and died later at a hospital.
Floyd's death triggered mass protests in a large number of major cities in the United States, where demonstrators denounced police brutality and demanded justice for African Americans who suffered at the hands of US police officers.
