Ta’Kiya Young: Hundreds of angry protesters chant “Black Lives Matter” and demand justice for a pregnant woman shot dead by a police officer in Ohio

Hundreds of angry protesters have marched through the city of Ohio, where pregnant woman Ta’Kiya Young was shot dead by a police officer last month.

On Sunday, protesters made speeches in Goodale Park in central Columbus and then chanted “Black Lives Matter” as they took to the streets to demand justice for the 21-year-old mother-of-two.

Police officers contacted Young while she was sitting in her car in a Kroger parking lot on August 24, believing she had shoplifted, although the family’s attorney denies that she was involved in the theft.

Shocking bodycam footage shows the moment an officer shoots through the windshield, killing Young and her unborn child as their car slowly rolls toward him.

The horrific incident in Blendon Township, north Columbus, has caused uproar in the local community and beyond.

Ta’Kiya Young, 21, was pregnant when she was fatally shot by a police officer on August 24 while sitting in her car in a Kroger parking lot in Blendon Township, north Columbus, Ohio

Hundreds of angry protesters marched through Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday night — the same city where mother-of-two Young was killed last month

Young’s 7th grade high school teacher, Malissa Thomas St Clair (pictured), paid tribute to her as a student with a “gorgeous smile” and “light brown eyes” who “didn’t get a chance to develop.”

Hundreds of people gathered in Goodale Park at 6pm for a protest organized by the People’s Justice Project.

Among the speakers was Young’s high school teacher, Malissa Thomas St. Clair, who remembered her as a student who “always put a smile on your face.”

“She used to say good morning Miss St. Clair, how’s your day today Miss St. Clair that was getting on your nerves today Miss St. Clair,” the 48-year-old Columbus-born teacher recalled .

“She put a smile on your face with her chocolate skin, her beautiful smile, her bright brown eyes.”

Thomas St. Clair told the crowd she almost didn’t speak because she was “so angry” at the loss of the “21-year-old who didn’t have a chance to develop.”

She also criticized people who claimed she used “her vehicle as a weapon” against the officer who shot her.

“The vehicle was not going faster than 2 miles per hour,” she said. “That man (the cop) wouldn’t have died at those miles per hour.”

“She kept out of the way because she knew she was going to die. She tried to save her daughter’s life.

‘Ta’Kiya Young was assassinated. Ta’Kiya Young’s baby was murdered.’

Several other speakers took the stage, including event organizer Raman Obey, who denounced “police violence.”

“We’re out here because people have lost their lives due to police escalation, police militarization and general police violence,” he said.

Young was a mother of two young children and was pregnant when she died. Her unborn child was also killed in the shooting

“And the added pressure of being pregnant – I can’t even imagine what she was thinking at the time… but it wasn’t until the second police force stepped outside the car that it became a tragedy.”

“This baby’s last words were, ‘Are you going to shoot me?'”

Another organizer, Emily Cole, pointed out that the police officer who shot Young has not yet been named or arrested.

‘She [police officers] “You can hide your name and not face the community,” she said.

“These families get no justice, no accountability and cannot even sue because of qualified immunity.”

After the protest in the park, the number of protesters who took to the streets chanting “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace” grew in number.

Many carried banners with Young’s name, as did others killed by police officers in America.

Young’s family has called for the arrest of the police officer responsible for her death, her attorney Sean Walton said.

Sunday protest organizers Raman Obey (right) and Emily Cole (left) delivered impassioned speeches on the stage in Goodale Park on Sunday before protesters marched through the streets

Shocking bodycam footage shows the moment an officer shoots through the windshield, killing Young and her unborn child as their car slowly rolls toward him

Walton said the bodycam video clearly showed the shooting was unwarranted.

“The video only confirmed her fears that Ta’Kiya was unjustly murdered … and it was just heartbreaking for her to see Ta’Kiya’s life taken under such ridiculous circumstances,” Walton told the AP.

“Ta’Kiya’s family is heartbroken.”