Thursday funeral planned for Ta'Kiya Young, mother killed in Blendon Twp. police shooting

Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read
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Blendon Township released body camera footage Friday, Sept. 1 from the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young. The footage is from both of the body cameras of the officers who were involved in the shooting, which happened around 6:20 p.m. Aug. 24 in the parking lot of the Sunbury Plaza Kroger.
Blendon Township released body camera footage Friday, Sept. 1 from the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young. The footage is from both of the body cameras of the officers who were involved in the shooting, which happened around 6:20 p.m. Aug. 24 in the parking lot of the Sunbury Plaza Kroger.

A funeral is planned Thursday for a 21-year-old pregnant woman who died along with her unborn child after she was fatally shot Aug. 24 by a Blendon Township police officer.

The funeral service for Ta'Kiya Young will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Church of Christ at Genessee Avenue,1889 Genessee Ave. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m.

Young died on Aug. 24 after being shot by a Blendon Township police officer in the parking lot of the Kroger store located at 5991 S. Sunbury Road.

An employee of the store had alerted an officer who was in the parking lot on an unrelated call that they believed Young had shoplifted from the store. Young was getting into a dark-colored Lexus that did not have a license plate and was backed into a handicapped parking spot.

Body camera footage released Friday by Blendon Township shows one officer approaching Young's driver's side window and Young refusing to get out of the car or turn it off when asked repeatedly. Young denied stealing anything in the video, though there is a large tote bag on her left arm, blocking her stomach from view.

The second policeman, identified by Young's family as Officer Connor Grubb, approached the front of Young's vehicle and had his firearm drawn, the body camera video shows. As Young's car moved forward, Grubb was hit by the vehicle and fired a single shot through the front windshield that struck Young in the chest.

Young's family said she was pregnant with a girl and was due to give birth in November. Young was also the mother of two boys, ages 6 and 3.

According to her obituary, Young worked at Cedar Point and enjoyed "cooking, dancing and creating TikTok videos."

"Her vibrant spirit and prankster nature filled every room she entered, spreading laughter and light to all around her," the obituary said.

Young attended Champion Middle School and Bridgescape High School. She is survived by her sons, her father, grandmother, siblings and extended family.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Thursday funeral planned for Ta'Kiya Young after fatal police shooting