Who was Ta'Kiya Young? What we know about the 21-year-old killed in Blendon Twp. shooting

Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·2 min read
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The family of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young, sit out side their home including her grandmother, Nadine Young, 61, right and her two boys, Ja'Kobie Young, 6, left and Ja'Kenli Young, 3. Ta'Kiya was pregnant with a girl and due in November, according to family.
The family of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young, sit out side their home including her grandmother, Nadine Young, 61, right and her two boys, Ja'Kobie Young, 6, left and Ja'Kenli Young, 3. Ta'Kiya was pregnant with a girl and due in November, according to family.

The woman killed by a Blendon Township police officer on Thursday evening was a mother of two and was expecting her third child this fall.

Ta'Kiya Young's family said the young woman turned 21 on Aug. 1 and celebrated by taking her two sons, 6-year-old Ja'Kobie and 3-year-old Ja'Kenli, to the Ohio State Fair.

Young had also recently found out she was having a girl and was due in November, her grandmother, Nadine Young, said.

Young had been raised by her grandmother for most of her life, the elder Young said, and was living with her.

Opinion: Shoplifting shouldn't have escalated to death sentence in Ta'Kiya Young shooting

Nadine Young described her granddaughter as "goofy" and "fun-loving," as well as someone who enjoyed playing pranks on others.

However, the relationship between the Youngs was at times more complex.

According to Franklin County Municipal Court records, Nadine Young called police on Sunday to her home on Divot Place after Ta'Kiya had shown up there. The court records said the elder Young told Columbus police officers that she had a protection order against her granddaughter, who was not supposed to be at the home.

Young had left before Columbus police arrived on the scene but a misdemeanor charge of violating a protection order was filed after Nadine Young filled out a witness statement, according to court records. It was the second such charge Young had faced as an adult.

Young also had other minor criminal infractions on her record, according to court documents.

Nadine Young said Friday she thought the 21-year-old had gone to the Kroger to get groceries.

Ta'Kiya Young was shot while in her car in the parking lot of that store. Blendon Township police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation have not released details about what led up to the shooting.

Young's unborn daughter also died as a result of the injuries Young sustained.

Young's father, Timothy Young, drove to Columbus from his home in Sandusky to be with his family and try to find out more about what happened. Young's mother died in 2022.

"They told me I can't see her body at the morgue," he said. "I'm her dad and I care."

He said police could have shot her tires out. "There's no excuse for this s---," he said.

Ta'Kiya Young's family was planning a small vigil at the elder Young's home on Friday night.

Dispatch reporter Mark Ferenchik contributed to this report.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who was Ta'Kiya Young? What we know about woman killed in police shooting