Ohio probes police shooting of Black teenage girl

**EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIDEO AND PROFANITY. AUDIO AS INCOMING**

State investigators in Columbus, Ohio are probing the fatal police shooting of a Black teenager in a confrontation caught on body-camera video that appeared to show her holding a knife and lunging at two people.

The 16-year-old girl identified by her family members as Ma'Khia Bryant collapses against the parked car and onto the ground.

The weapon, which appears to be a kitchen knife, is seen lying on the pavement near her, as an officer crouches at her side to render medical aid.

The incident happened Tuesday around the same time a Minneapolis jury convicted a white former police officer of murdering George Floyd last year by kneeling on his neck.

Her shooting triggered immediate protests in Columbus - Ohio's biggest city and the state capital.

Interim Police Chief Michael Woods identified the officer who shot Bryant as Nicholas Reardon and said Reardon "would be taken off the street" pending an investigation.

MAYOR ANDREW GINTHER: "We'll release all other information that we can as soon as we can."

Columbus mayor Andrew Ginther on Wednesday said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation would determine if the officer had acted unlawfully.

MAYOR ANDREW GINTHER: "Did Ma'Khia Bryant need to die yesterday? How did we get here?"

The video shows police – who were responding to a 9-1-1- call for an attempted stabbing - driving up to a chaotic scene, with several people gathered on a front lawn.Bryant, brandishing a knife, charged toward one person who fell backwards, and then lunged at a second person.

A slow-motion replay shows the second victim stumbling backward against a car parked in the home's driveway as Bryant raises the weapon as if about to stab her, and Reardon fires what sounds like four shots.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting.

JEN PSAKI: "The killing of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant by Columbus police is tragic. She was a child. We're thinking of her friends and family and the communities that are hurting and grieving her loss."

Franklin County Children Services said Bryant was a foster child in the agency's care.

According to a video on Twitter, her aunt told reporters that quote :"She was a good kid, she was loving… She didn't deserve to die like a dog on the street."