Bryant, 16, was fatally shot by Columbus police officer on April 20.
April 30, 2021, 1:48 PM
• 3 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleMa’Khia Bryant will be laid to rest in a funeral service at the First Church of God in Columbus, Ohio, Friday afternoon.
The viewing will start at noon and the service will begin at 1 p.m.
Bryant, 16, was fatally shot by white Columbus police officer Nicholas Reardon on April 20. Body camera footage from the incident showed Bryant with a knife.
The funerals for Casey Goodson Jr. and Andre Hill, two Black men who were killed by Central Ohio law enforcement in recent months, were held at the same church.
Ma'Khia Bryant in an undated selfie photo provided by family members Don Bryant and Paula Bryant. The 16-year-old was shot and killed by police as she swung a knife at two other people, April 20, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio.
Masks are required and social distancing guidelines will be followed at the service.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating Reardon’s actions for potential wrongdoing, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said. Reardon was placed on paid leave following the shooting.
Attorney Michelle Martin, who is representing Bryant’s family, is calling for a Health and Human Services investigation into Ohio’s foster care system, which Bryant was a part of, as well as a probe from the Department of Justice.
Flowers, signs and balloons left at a makeshift memorial at the site where a Columbus police officer shot and killed Ma'Khia Bryant, 16, in Columbus, Ohio on April 21, 2021.
Bryant’s family doesn’t want the teen to remembered by her sudden death.
“I want the world to know my baby was a talented, bubbly, loving teenager,” Paula Bryant, Ma’Khia’s mother, told reporters Wednesday. “She never should’ve been gone from this world. She had a full life ahead of her that ended in tragedy. I love my baby. She was a good little girl.”
