Three Sharon Hill police officers were charged Tuesday by Delaware County’s district attorney in connection with the murder of an 8-year-old girl and the injuring of three others following a football game on August 27, 2021. Officers Devon Smith, Sean Dolan, and Brian Devaney have been charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment on 12 charges. Who was the 8-year-old girl Fanta Bility, and What happened to her? Come down o know everything regarding Fanta Bility murdered:
Who was 8-year old girl Fanta Bility? Wiki, Parents, Sister, School
Fanta Bility was a Sharon Hill School student who lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with her parents and siblings. She was one of six children in a close-knit family that was part of a broader community of Guinean immigrants. Mamasa, her older sister, was also injured in the fatal shooting. Fanta was a third-grade student at Sharon Hill School. According to family members, she went to the game to support her older sister, Mamasa, a cheerleader, and her cousin, who was playing in the game between Academy Park and Pennsbury High School. Mamasa was also injured in the shooting and is healing at home.
Saddiq Muhammad, one of her cousins, said he heard about the shooting at the football game on television and believed it was stupid. The next morning, he found out that his cousin had been killed.
“Waking up in the morning, learning that it was a family member, it took me off guard,” he said. “My family is still devastated, my family is still hurting. She was a beautiful little girl.”
“We are hurt, and we need justice,” Fanta’s Aunt Fatima said after a funeral for the girl at Masjid Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaah in Southwest Philadelphia. “She didn’t deserve this. was an innocent girl. She did nothing wrong, and she never hurt anyone.”
Fanta Bility murdered: What happened to her after shooting?
Fanta Bility was murdered on Aug. 27 at Academy Park High School in Sharon Hill, a town of about 5,700 people near the Philadelphia International Airport, when shooting began immediately after the end of a game. Bility’s sister, as well as two others, were injured.
Tanya Allen, the president of the Sharon Hill Council, issued a statement in response to the news.
“Sharon Hill’s heart is still broken. The entire Borough grieves for Fanta Bility and we again convey our deepest sympathies to her family and everyone affected by the shooting. Today’s indictment of our police officers brings us to another solemn moment. Today we must reflect on our safety, and on those who are sworn to protect and serve. We respect the judicial process and while we have been patient in our approach, now that the Grand Jury has concluded its investigation, and given the serious charges issued by the District Attorney, we are able to move forward with measures that will hold the officers accountable.”
Who is responsible for Fanta Bility death?
Prosecutors claim that the gunfight that murdered Bility began as a verbal disagreement between two teenagers. After claiming that the two teens who began the gunfight should be held criminally accountable for Bility’s murder, activists criticized prosecutors for their handling of the case. The two were later charged with murder in the first degree and additional crimes.
In a statement released Tuesday, Stollsteimer said he directed his staff to withdraw the murder accusations against the teenagers.
“While I believe these defendants should be held accountable for starting the series of events that ultimately led to Fanta Bility’s death, developments during the grand jury investigation render it appropriate to withdraw these charges at this time,” Stollsteimer said.
For his injuring of a minor bystander during the gunfight, Hasein Strand, 18, of Collingdale, Pennsylvania, pled guilty to illegal possession of a pistol and aggravated assault counts. Strand will serve a sentence of 32 to 64 months in a state jail institution and will be under judicial monitoring until 2030, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said the other teen in the altercation, who is 16, “remains charged with significant offenses for his attempt to kill Strand.” Last week, after activists intensified their protests, a scheduled hearing for him was postponed.
What did the Fanta Bility family say?
The Bility family’s attorney, Bruce L. Castor Jr., said in a statement posted by the district attorney’s office Tuesday that the family is grateful for the charges brought against the police.
“The family appreciates that the District Attorney has kept the family informed at every stage of this investigation,” Castor said. “From the beginning he assured them that he would seek justice for Fanta, and today’s charges indicate that he’s done exactly that. They made the right call.”
Who are the Three Police Officers Charged in Fatal Shooting
Authorities in Pennsylvania have charged three police officers with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an 8-year-old girl outside a high school football game in August, during which they fired a torrent of bullets after two teens began firing, according to the authorities.
Officers Devon Smith, Sean Dolan, and Brian Devaney of the Sharon Hill Police Department in the Philadelphia suburb of Sharon Hill were charged with a total of 12 counts, including both voluntary and involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment, according to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
Devaney, Dolan, and Smith were arrested and bailed out for $500,000 each. It’s unknown whether any or all of them have been made public. The three officers’ attorneys did not immediately reply to NPR’s request for comment. On Jan. 27, they are scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing.
What did the police say in the investigation of the death of Fanta Bility?
Prosecutors claimed that after the gunshots started, investigators found that two were fired in the direction of the officers who were monitoring the throng exiting the stadium. The officers then opened fire on the football field with their firearms.
“We have now concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that it was, in fact, shots from the officers that struck and killed Fanta Bility and injured three others,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
“They picked the wrong target, they shot in the wrong direction at it, and they shot as that target was moving through a crowd of people. And that is why Fanta Bility is dead,” Stollsteimer said on Tuesday.
Through their lawyer, Bruce Castor, the Bility family thanked the district attorney’s office “for following the evidence and the law in bringing forth these charges.”
NPR member station WHYY reported that “on hearing word of the charges, the Sharon Hill Borough Council announced in a statement that it plans on voting to fire the officers.”
Recent Comments