The Columbus Ohio Mayor is asking the public to remain calm after a teenage girl was shot and killed by a police officer overnight.
The police in Ohio, who released body camera footage, said the girl had threatened two other girls with a knife before an officer opened fire.
Officials released bodycam footage of the incident which shows 15-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant pushing a girl to the ground and attempting to stab her with a knife before being fatally shot by an officer.
A teenage girl was fatally shot by the police in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday afternoon, officials said, shortly before a jury reached a guilty verdict in the murder trial of the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd. https://t.co/ovpoZfbRSt
— Neil Vigdor (@gettinviggy) April 21, 2021
Interim Police Chief Michael Woods and Mayor Ginther said the officer acted to save the life of the girl being threatened with a knife.
At a news conference on Tuesday night, the Columbus Division of Police released body camera footage from the officer, who officials said had been responding to a 911 call about an attempted stabbing around 4:45 p.m. in the southeastern part of the city.
Officials said the video showed the teenager lunging at two other females with a knife as the officer arrived at the driveway of a residence. The officer then fired several times — four shots could be heard in the video — at the girl. She collapsed to the ground next to a car that had been parked in the driveway, where the body camera footage showed a knife on the ground.