Flint Police Shooting: Woman Shot, Officer Fired at Along Juneteenth Day Parade Route

The Michigan State Police Bay Region confirmed that there was a police shooting in the City of Flint along the route for a parade for Juneteenth Day celebrations. They say a person – identified by local television as a Flint woman – opened fire first at an officer working traffic for the parade.

“At the request of the Flint Police Department, the Michigan State Police is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred at approximately 2:14 p.m. in the City of Flint involving a Flint Police Officer,” the agency wrote on Twitter.

In a news release, the woman was identified as Briana Sykes, 19, of Flint. She died of her injuries at the hospital.

A woman was shot by police in Flint, Michigan, according to social media reports, but authorities have not confirmed the gender of the person involved.

However, Fox 25 reported that the person shot was a 19-year-old woman from Flint. The officer returned fire and shot her, the television station reported. The shooting occurred on a street that was part of the parade route.

Here’s what you need to know:

Police Say the Woman Shot at the Officer From a Vehicle

State police said that the person who was shot fired at an officer who was working a traffic point for the Juneteenth Celebration Parade.

Juenteenth was on June 19, 2021.

“Preliminary investigation indicates the officer, who was working a traffic point for the Juneteenth Celebration Parade, was fired upon by the lone occupant of a vehicle who drove up to him at the traffic point. Upon taking fire, the officer returned fire, striking the suspect,” the agency wrote on Twitter.

“The officer was not injured, nor were any bystanders who were in the area. This incident remains under investigation.” According to MLive, the person shot was taken to a hospital. The shooting occurred on Saginaw Street near Leith Street. The news site reported that the shooting occurred as Flint hosted the Juneteenth Day parade.

People Expressed Anger on Social Media

Here are some of the comments on social media:

“The police just shot a girl in flint and y’all had the nerve to protest with them. I’m furious!”

“Police just shot and killed a woman in downtown flint Woman facepalming idk if she was shooting first or what this shit crazy … glad I didn’t bother to go downtown.”

“Y’all shooting at the Parade ???? Flint can’t have nice shit at all.”

“Glad me & my son ain’t go up to berston the police just shot female smh Flint just Sad Af .”

“Y’all tell me why someone shot at the police during a Juneteenth parade in Flint.”

Local journalist Bria Jones wrote on Twitter, “I waited two hours for the Juneteenth Parade on Saginaw Street only to find out it was interrupted by a shooting less than a mile away. Flint we MUST do better.. THIS IS SAD!”

What is Juneteenth Day? “Juneteenth is an annual holiday observing the end of slavery in the U.S. and marks the day (June 19, 1865) when news of emancipation reached people in the deepest parts of the former Confederacy in Galveston, Texas,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

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