The answer: Years of turbulence in foster care, a grandmother who tried to keep the family together, and claims of abuse at her mother& #39;s home.

Seconds before Ma& #39;Khia was shot, her sister told me, she was infuriated by a woman who spit at her grandmother. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/0...
Ja& #39;Niah recalled being in the foster home with Ma& #39;Khia as two women in their 20s — who had previously lived there — threatened to fight them.

Her grandmother stood on the stairs trying to keep the women away from the girls, she said.

Ja& #39;Niah called 911. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/0...
The sisters grabbed their things and tried to rush out of the foster home with their grandmother.

But, they recalled, one of the women spit at their grandmother as they left, and Ma& #39;Khia became enraged.

Just then, a 23-year-old police officer walked up. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/0...
Minutes after a police officer shot her sister, the police put Ja& #39;Niah in the house, where she turned on cartoons for a younger brother.

But what first flashed across the TV was a news report: Derek Chauvin had been found guilty of murder in Minneapolis. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/0...
When Ma& #39;Khia was taken from her mom, she and her siblings lived with their grandmother (last in video).

But then she lost her home, and the kids were forced into foster care.

The grandmother asks: Why didn& #39;t I get the $ and support foster parents get? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/0...
When I spoke with Ja& #39;Niah, she told me she was sad that TikTok had taken down her sister& #39;s account, where Ma& #39;Khia had posted videos doing her hair and dancing.

So I asked TikTok and they said it had been mistakenly removed. Now it& #39;s back up: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMebYnndm/ ">https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMebYnndm...
There was one thing Ma& #39;Khia wanted after foster care split her up from her loved ones.

"She wanted to get back to me, to family. To Columbus," says her sister, Ja& #39;Niah.

(https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📸" title="Kamera mit Blitz" aria-label="Emoji: Kamera mit Blitz">: 1. Ja& #39;Niah by @maddiemcgarvey 2. Both sisters FaceTiming their mother in Feb.) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/0...
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