US: Pregnant Black Woman Calling for Help Killed by Police in Front of Children

A pregnant Black woman who had called the police to report an attempted burglary in her home was shot and killed by the cops that arrived on the scene Sunday morning in Seattle, Washington.

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Police shot at 30-year-old Charleena Lyles multiples times in front of three of her four young children. Detectives have thus far justified the shooting saying Lyles was brandishing a knife. However, critics on social media are skeptical, saying that it is understandable a mother would feel protective of her children in the wake of an attempted robbery.

Lyles’ sister, Monika Williams, questioned the police’s excessive use of force.

“There’s no reason for her to be shot in front of her babies,” Williams yelled to reporters outside of the Brettler Family Place apartments where the shooting occurred, reported Inquisitr. “The Seattle Police shot the wrong one today.”

Her brother, Domico Jones, also declared that officers didn't have to use lethal force.

"If worse came to worse, use a taser instead of a gun for someone that has three kids inside of their house," he stated. "I feel that it's not gonna bring no harm to nobody."

Lyles had just been released from jail Wednesday after serving time for an unrelated incident earlier this month where Lyles had armed herself with a pair of scissors as protection against her boyfriend. The young mother had been dealing with a number of mental health issues in the last year.

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"The obstruction was she wouldn't let go of her baby until I got here and she had some scissors in her hand. She didn't charge nobody or nothing," said Williams of the earlier incident, in which her sister had been charged on several accounts, including obstruction and harassment. "She just told them to call my sister and tell my sister gets here. And then when I got here, I told them then. 'Cause they didn't know whether to take her to jail or take her to mental health. Take here to mental health. She has mental health issues."

Organizations fighting against police brutality of Black people in the United States are raising alarm bells at yet another instance of this recurring kind. Williams has launched a GoFundMe page in Lyles' name.