Thread by @NickAtNews, NEW: The world saw a police officer shoot and kill 16-year-old Ma'Khia [...]

NEW: The world saw a police officer shoot and kill 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant last month as she was about to stab another woman.

But what came before?

@EllenBarryNYT @NYT_Wright and I went to Columbus, Ohio, to find out. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html

Ma’Khia Bryant’s Journey Through Foster Care Ended With an Officer’s Bullet

The 16-year-old girl was fatally shot while threatening a young woman with a knife. She had spent two years shuttling among Ohio foster homes, hoping to return to her mother.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html

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

Seconds before Ma'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

Ma’Khia Bryant’s Journey Through Foster Care Ended With an Officer’s Bullet

The 16-year-old girl was fatally shot while threatening a young woman with a knife. She had spent two years shuttling among Ohio foster homes, hoping to return to her mother.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html

Speaking publicly for the first time, Ja'Niah Bryant, 15, told me her sister Ma'Khia wanted nothing more than to get out of foster care.

"That was her biggest thing. She didn't want to be in the foster care system until she was 18." https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html

Ma’Khia Bryant’s Journey Through Foster Care Ended With an Officer’s Bullet

The 16-year-old girl was fatally shot while threatening a young woman with a knife. She had spent two years shuttling among Ohio foster homes, hoping to return to her mother.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html

Ja'Niah recalled being in the foster home with Ma'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'Niah called 911. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html

Ma’Khia Bryant’s Journey Through Foster Care Ended With an Officer’s Bullet

The 16-year-old girl was fatally shot while threatening a young woman with a knife. She had spent two years shuttling among Ohio foster homes, hoping to return to her mother.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html

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'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

Ma’Khia Bryant’s Journey Through Foster Care Ended With an Officer’s Bullet

The 16-year-old girl was fatally shot while threatening a young woman with a knife. She had spent two years shuttling among Ohio foster homes, hoping to return to her mother.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html

Minutes after a police officer shot her sister, the police put Ja'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

Ma’Khia Bryant’s Journey Through Foster Care Ended With an Officer’s Bullet

The 16-year-old girl was fatally shot while threatening a young woman with a knife. She had spent two years shuttling among Ohio foster homes, hoping to return to her mother.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html

When Ma'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't I get the $ and support foster parents get? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html

When I spoke with Ja'Niah, she told me she was sad that TikTok had taken down her sister's account, where Ma'Khia had posted videos doing her hair and dancing.

So I asked TikTok and they said it had been mistakenly removed. Now it's back up: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMebYnndm/

There was one thing Ma'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'Niah.

(

: 1. Ja'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

There was one thing Ma'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'Niah.(: 1. Ja'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

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