A Fort Worth police officer shot and killed a Black woman inside her own home early Saturday morning.
The police were responding to a welfare call after a neighbor reported that the front door of the residence of 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson was open, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reports.
When officers arrived, they searched the perimeter of the house and saw a person standing inside the residence, near a window. That is when one officer drew his weapon and shot Jefferson.
Officials said the officer shot through the window “perceiving a threat.”
Jefferson died at the scene, WFAA-8 reports.
Fort Worth PD released body camera footage from the incident taken from the angle of the officer who fired the shot. The white officer, who remains unnamed, has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. He had been with the Fort Worth Police Department since April 2018.
“A young woman has lost her life, leaving her family in unbelievable grief,” Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said in a statement. “All of Fort Worth must surround Atatiana Jefferson’s family with prayers, love and support.”
James Smith, the neighbor that called the the non-emergency police number to request a welfare check at his Jefferson’s house says he doesn’t understand the officer’s response.
“I called my police department for a welfare check. No domestic violence, no arguing, nothing that they should have been concerned about as far as them coming with guns drawn to my neighbor’s house,” Smith told WFAA-8.
The tragic shooting comes over a year after Dallas police officer Amber Guyger shot and killed her 26-year-old neighbor upstairs neighbor Botham Jean after mistakenly walking into his apartment. She was found guilty earlier this month and sentenced to 10 years in prison.