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Aiyana Jones
Innocent child killed by police
7-year-old Aiyana Jones was asleep on a living room sofa when she was shot once in the neckafter a Detroit Police Special Response Team executed a no-knock search warrant at a two-unit flat in Detroit shortly after 12:30am on 15th May 2010.
Aiyana’s father, Charles Jones, said; "I saw them (police) running with my daughter out of the house. They had my mother on the floor, and they just kept me there for like two hours, I knew it was bad.” He went on to say; "Her blood was everywhere and I was trying to stay calm, but nobody would talk to me. None of them even tried to console me,''
Officers were supposedly searching for a murder suspect. They fired a flash-bang grenade through the front window and then stormed the family home. The family claims the grenade burned Aiyana.
According to police, as police officers entered the home there was a struggle with the child's grandmother, Mertilla Jones, who grabbed for an officers gun before it accidentally discharged. The bullet struck and killed Aiyana. Authorities have claimed the gun was fired by accident.
One witness, Terrance Echols, 28, said he was in his home, across the street when he heard a "bang.'' He ran upstairs, "and I heard people yelling, 'You killed a 7-year-old girl. You killed the girl."
Southfield attorney Geoffery Fieger, representing the family of Aiyana said, shortly after the shooting, he had obtained video footage of the incident. He claimed that it shot by the A and E crime reality show, "The First 48" shows at least one shot was fired after police threw a stun grenade into the home.
The Detroit police department would not comment on early newspaper reports that neighbours had told police there were children in the house.
So far, three details are being disputed. The first, which the Detroit Free Press reported, is that the raid team did not know children might be in the home. Family members said there were toys in the front yard.
The second disputed detail is that police entered the home before Aiyana was shot. The family said police opened fire before entering the house. According toFieger, the A&E video footage of the incident proves this.
The third disputed detail is that Officer Joseph Weekley’s gun accidentally went off following a struggle with Aiyana’s grandmother. At a press conference in front of the home Mertilla Jones said there was no struggle: "I hit the floor when I heard them hit the window.”They blew my granddaughter's brains out. They killed her right before my eyes. I watched the light go out of her eyes. I seen it."
This is not the first incident involving a gun and children for Weekley. The Detroit News revealed that in a 2009 federal lawsuit he was accused of being part of a team that broke into a home, shot two dogs and pointed a pistol at children. In an interview with Democracy Now! Ron Scott, the founder of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, said these types of incidents have gotten worse in recent years with response teams conducting "military-style raids."
Aiyana’s father, Charles, said; "I'll never be the same. That's my only daughter,'' He said he was trying not to be angry but wanted the story to be told. He said Aiyana was a lively child who loved to sing and had recently developed an interest in Hannah Montana. "She was just figuring out what she liked, what she wanted to do with her life,'' her father said.”I want this story to be heard. This was a wrongful death.''
At [Aiyana’s funeral] mother, Dominika Stanley, could not bear to witness the opening moments of her baby’s final send-off. Overwhelmed with sorrow and heartbreak the fragile mother’s body could take no more. She collapsed. She fell to her knees before the pastor could even give his opening prayer.
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Other Reports
[Mayor] Bing's office defends actions in wake of violence
24th May 2010
Aiyana Jones Funeral Brings Hundreds to Mourn Loss of Little Girl
23rd May 2010
Surviving the Painful Funeral of Aiyana Jones
22nd May 2010
Family of Slain 7-Year-Old Aiyana Jones Files Lawsuit against Detroit Police
19th May 2010
Police shot girl, 7, during TV show filming
18th May 2010
Family grieves death of girl, 7, in police raid
18th May 2010
Video: Aiyana Jones Lawsuit Against Detroit Police