COLUMBUS, OHIO: After allegedly taking alcohol from a store and reportedly driving her car towards an officer, a pregnant Black woman, Ta'Kiya Young, was shot and killed by police.
Ta'Kiya Young, 21, of Columbus, Ohio, and her unborn child died in the fight that took place in Blendon on the night of Thursday, August 24. She was six months pregnant with a girl.
According to Blendon Police Chief John Belford, a Kroger employee alerted authorities who were in the store for an unrelated reason that many people were escaping with stolen goods.
What was Ta'kiya Young accused of stealing?
Young, a mother of two, was accused of stealing several bottles of alcohol from the Kroger shop, as reported by Daily Mail.
According to Belford, one police officer approached the pregnant woman's car's driver's side and motioned for her to stop, while the second cop moved in front of the four-door sedan.
When did the officers shoot Ta'kiya Young?
The officer in the vehicle's direct line of fire fired one shot through the front windscreen as Young put the car in gear and began to accelerate, according to the police chief.
The automobile carrying the expecting mother then drove about 50 feet before stopping in front of the supermarket, on the sidewalk.
Young was taken to the hospital at Mount Carmel St Ann's after officers broke the driver's side window of her car to get her out. Not long after reaching the hospital, she was declared dead.
She had two sons, 6 and 3 years old, and was reportedly scheduled to give birth to her third child, a daughter, in November, based on what her family told The Columbus dispatch. However, her unborn daughter did not survive the shooting.
The investigation into the fatal shooting is being overseen by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Who were the cops that killed Ta'kiya Young?
The two cops' identities, along with any details about them, such as their ages and races, have not been made public.
As is customary in these situations, they are on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, Belford said.
Police said the body cam video of the shooting, which was captured, would be made public later this week.
What did Ta'kiya Young's family say?
Young's family expressed to The Columbus Dispatch that they are confused by the incident and wonder why she was judged a threat to life.
Over 20 friends and family members gathered at her grandmother Nadine Young's house in her honor.
Nadine declared to Daily Mail, "She stole something from the store," adding, "You didn't have to shoot the woman; she would have eventually gotten out of the … car. You didn't have to kill her and the baby."
Her grandmother claimed that Young "had a knack" for uniting the family and that the police shooting had caused them to act quickly.
The family's goal is to look after her sons and raise them without any hatred towards the police.
Nadine said, "We're all going to be rallying around (her sons), and be the village for them." She added, "Taking care of them, getting them into school, and keeping them focused and not having them hate the police."
She further concluded, "I don't want them growing up like that."
Belford said in his statement on Friday that while processing of the body camera footage is taking some time, it will eventually be released.
After an almost week-long wait for the release of the footage, Nadine said to The Columbus Dispatch, "They've got to fess up about what's going on," adding, "This is just wrong."
