#2023-08-24

Columbus, Ohio — On August 24, 2023, Blendon Township police officers were assisting a driver locked out of her car in the Kroger parking lot on Sunbury Road. As the officers were helping, a Kroger employee pointed out to one of the officers that someone who had stolen bottles of alcohol from the store was -- at that moment -- fleeing. Store employees later reported that several suspects had been stealing items, but the other suspects had fled in other cars. However, this particular female suspects who had been pointed out to the officer, was in a Lexus sedan with no license tags parked in a handicapped spot right in front of the store.

The Franklin County Coroner identified the suspect as 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young and confirmed she was pregnant. Young started the car. One officer approached from the driver’s side and ordered Young to stop and get out of the car. She ignored the order. Another officer came in front of the car and also ordered Young to get out of the car. Despite being ordered to get out of the car more than a dozen times, she refused to do so. Young put the car in gear and accelerated forward. The officer who was directly in the path of the oncoming car fired one shot through the front windshield. The car kept moving and officers ran after it for about 50 feet. It then came to a stop on the sidewalk outside the store.

Because the driver’s door had been locked, officers immediately broke the driver’s window so they could attend to Young and begin medical assistance. Officers also immediately called for EMS. The officer who fired the shot sprinted to his car to get a trauma kit, which he quickly employed. A passing ER doctor assisted. Young died at St. Ann’s hospital, which was the closest ER. The two officers’ names, ages and races were not immediately released. They are on paid administrative leave while the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation examines the shooting, which is standard in cases of police use of deadly force. Young was expected to give birth to a daughter in November. She also was the mother of two young sons, ages 6 and 3.