A 16-year-old Black girl has been charged with murder after a police officer allegedly killed her boyfriend. According to reports by WCMH, Masonique Saunders, 16, has been charged with murder and aggravated robbery.
The incident stems from a shooting that occurred on Dec. 7, 2018, in which a police officer killed Julius Tate, Jr., 16, in Columbus, Ohio.
Police officers claim that they set up a sting operation in which they offered to buy an item Tate had for sale on his social media account. When an undercover officer arrived to meet Tate, police claimed that he pulled out a gun and attempted to the rob the undercover officer.
Another police officer, who followed closely and served as a cover officer during the sting, shot and killed Tate.
Police said Saunders had a gun during the attempted robbery, and they are able to charge her with felony murder for indirectly causing Tate’s death. However, Saunders’ and Tate’s family attorney, Byron Potts, denies that she was involved in any way with a robbery.
Potts shared that the police officers shot Tate in cold blood and later retrieved a firearm from his apartment after searching his family’s home, according to WOSU. He also revealed that Tate’s family will file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Columbus Police Department.
Saunders will remain in a juvenile detention center until a Dec. 20 hearing that will determine if she should be tried as an adult.
Columbus police have not released the name of the officer involved in the shooting or how many times the cover officer fired his gun.
