Ohio police officer who shot and killed a pregnant black woman in a parking lot is charged with murder

Blendon Township Police Officer Connor Grubb has been indicted on murder charges in connection with the death of Ta’Kiya Young

An Ohio police officer who shot and killed a pregnant Black woman in August 2023 has been charged with her murder.

Ta’Kiya Young was shot in her car in a parking lot outside a supermarket in Blendon Township, Ohio, on August 24, 2023, according to reports from The New York Times, CNN and the Associated press.

News outlets, citing authorities, reported that Young was accused of shoplifting when police responded.

According to body camera footage reviewed by PEOPLE, Blendon Township Police Officer Connor Grubb and another officer approached Young, who was sitting behind the wheel of his car. An officer told Young to exit the vehicle when the car began to advance toward Grubb, who fired shots through the car’s windshield, striking the woman.

Young died, as did her unborn daughter, the AP reported.

Nearly a year later, a grand jury indicted Grubb on charges of murder, manslaughter and felonious assault, news outlets reported, citing Montgomery prosecutor Mat Heck Jr.

Grubb’s lawyers said in a statement released by THE Times that body camera video showed he was hit by the car and that his “actions were justified.”

It is not immediately clear whether Grubb has entered a plea.

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In a Facebook VideoBlendon Township Police Chief John Belford said the department is now required to take disciplinary action against Grubb as a result of the accusation, while also noting that he was “not judging whether Officer Grubb acted correctly.”

CNN reported that Young’s family attorney, Sean Walton, commented on the accusation against Grubb.

“Today marks a solemn victory in the pursuit of justice for Ta’Kiya Young and her unborn daughter, whose lives were tragically and unjustly taken at the hands of Blendon Township Police Officer Connor Grubb,” Walton said.

ONE GoFundMe began raising money for her two children and raised more than $12,000.

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Read the original article at People.