Ohio officer facing murder charges in shooting death of pregnant Black woman

FRANKLIN COUNTY — A grand jury has indicted the Ohio police officer who shot and killed 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young at a Kroger in Franklin County last August.

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On Tuesday, Blendon Township Police Officer Connor Grubb was indicted on four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault, and two counts of involuntary manslaughter, according to a spokesperson from the Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.

Montgomery County Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys are handling the case at the request of the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, according to the spokesperson.

A warrant has since been issued for Grubb’s arrest.

The shooting occurred on Aug. 24, 2023, in the parking lot of Kroger on Sunbury Road.

Before the shooting, a Kroger employee told two officers multiple people were leaving the store with stolen items, according to our media partners WBNS-10 TV and the AP.

Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford said one of those people was Young.

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Officers found Young inside a car in the parking lot. They told her to get out, but she refused, WBNS-10 reported.

One of the officers was standing in front of the car when Young put it in gear and started to accelerate towards him.

The officer then fired his weapon through the windshield. The gunfire struck Young.

WBNS-10 reported that Young was 25 to 28 weeks pregnant at the time of the shooting. Her unborn child did not survive.

Family members of Young called for the officer to be charged just after the shooting occurred, the AP reported.

The department has started a disciplinary review following Grubb’s indictment, according to Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford.

“No one at Blendon Township has passed any judgment on whether Officer Grubb acted within the law. However, since people who’ve been indicted may not legally possess a firearm, the indictment against him leaves us with no choice but to begin the disciplinary process,” Belford said in a statement.

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