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Was the knife on the ground when police in Columbus, Ohio, arrived at what became a deadly shooting scene?

By Dana Ford
NO

Contrary to a claim in a social media post, police body camera footage shows that a knife was being wielded by a teen who was subsequently shot and killed by an officer.

During a news conference, Interim Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods played body camera footage from the officer who fired his weapon during the April 20, 2021, incident. Woods showed the video twice -- once at normal speed and once in slow motion.

The video shows that shortly after the officer arrived, the teen described by Woods as "the female with the knife" appears to lunge at another female, who falls to the ground. The officer shouts, "get down, get down!" The lunging teen appears to charge another female. The lunging teen is holding a knife. It falls to the ground after the officer fires several shots, striking that teen.

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Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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