Ma’Khia, 16, died after she was shot four times by a police officer responding to reports of an attempting stabbing at a house in Columbus on Tuesday. Security footage from across the street where 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant was shot dead by police shows the chaotic scenes leading up to the incident. Newly released footage from a neighbor’s home surveillance camera shows Ohio teenager Ma’Khia Bryant lunging at two people before she was shot dead by police.
The young girl’s death – just as a former police officer was found guilty of the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis – sparked Black Lives Matter protests in the Ohio capital.
Columbus man Donavon Brinson, who lives opposite the front yard where Ma’Khia was shot, has released a home security camera showing the chaotic scenes leading to a fatal shooting.
In the footage, Ma’Khia lunges at two people while holding a knife.
Mr. Brinson told Fox News the footage made him think the officer who shot the young girl “reacted with what he thought was his best judgment”.
“He only had seconds to respond,” Mr Brinson said.
“From my point of view, watching this, unfortunately, the whole scenario puts him in a bad spot regardless of the situation.
“He could not have fired, and the young lady in pink could have got stabbed in the neck or been brutally or fatally injured.”
Mr Brinson added, “The video doesn’t lie”.
In the new footage, a female voice can be heard yelling, “I’m gonna stab the f**k out of you, bitch.”
Previously released bodycam video from the police officer who shot Ma’Khia, Nicholas Reardon, shows him exiting his vehicle and walking up on an apparent confrontation involving multiple women.
“What’s going on? What’s going on?” he asks.
Seconds later, one of the women is pushed onto the footpath in front of him. Ma’Khia is then seen rushing at another woman dressed in a pink tracksuit. She is brandishing a knife in her right hand.
“Hey, get down, get down, get down!” Mr. Reardon shouts, drawing his gun.
He then shoots the 16-year-old, firing four times.
Ma’Khia was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations is now examining the shooting and will determine whether Mr. Reardon did anything wrong.
“The important step now is an independent and transparent investigation. We will assist them, but we will not interfere in their process. Our role is to provide them the information they request,” interim Police Chief Michael Woods told the media.
“We will not provide input; we will allow them to conduct their investigation.”
Meanwhile, relatives of Ma’Khia have described the teenager as an “all-round good person”.
Don Bryant, a cousin of Ma’Khia’s mother, told The Washington Post he struggled to recognize the girl in the video as he tried to understand what happened.
He said while he didn’t “condone any violence”, he felt the officer’s decision to shoot was disproportionate.
“There are other disengagement techniques that police could have used here,” he said. “I’m a supporter of police, as a former city councillor. I understood their moves, their tactics, and what they do. I don’t understand what happened here.”
Loved ones told The Post Ma’Khia was an intelligent young girl who performed well at school and was an aspiring cosmetologist.
In a statement on Thursday, the Bryant family said they were saddened by her “tragic and unnecessary death”.
“Ma’Khia was a good student, a good person, and did not deserve what happened to her. We want to remind everyone Ma’Khia was only a 16-year-old teenage girl. We are deeply disturbed by the disproportionate and unjustified use of force in this situation,” the family said.
“And while we remain encouraged by public support and all of the prayers shared with us, at the end of the day, we know nothing will bring back our beloved Ma’Khia. We respectfully request justice for Ma’Khia Bryant.”
