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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Just more than a week after her death, 16-year-old Ma’Khia Braynt has been laid to rest.

Dr. Jamal Bryant, who traveled from the New Birth Church in Atlanta, Georgia, presided over Bryant’s funeral at First Church of God in Columbus.

Bishop Timothy Clarke, senior pastor of First Church of God, opened the service with a request. 

UPDATE: the family of Ma’Khia Bryant is here they are the group in white @SpectrumNews1OH pic.twitter.com/U2rcXANded

— Olivia Wile (@o_wile) April 30, 2021

“This little girl has touched and shaken the world. Why don’t you give her a round of applause,” Clarke said to the crowd. 

The viewing on Friday, and the funeral that followed, were open to the public. Clarke said it was to allow the family and community to heal together.     

“It is important that we come together to mutually support each other and be sustained and strengthened by each other as well,” he said.

Notable attendees included Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, and the mother of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky.

Bryant’s cousin, Donnie Bryant, spoke on behalf of the family, sharing more about who Bryant was. 

“She was a child of God, she was a daughter, she was a granddaughter, she was a niece, a cousin, a best friend, she was a student and although she had such a small time on earth she leaves behind her legacy,” said Donnie Bryant.

Bryant’s casket has been carried out. Butterflies were released in her honor @SpectrumNews1OH pic.twitter.com/rX2CwvV2dO

— Olivia Wile (@o_wile) April 30, 2021

Her high school principal, Emmanuel Anthony, presented an honorary high school degree to her mother, Paula. 

After the service, butterflies were released in Bryant’s honor.

Bryant was fatally wounded by Reardon on April 20 when the officer responded to a disturbance in Columbus. Police said that Reardon’s body-worn camera showed that Bryant lunged at another female with a knife. Reardon shot Bryant multiple times, police said. 

Per routine practice, the incident is under review to investigate whether Reardon’s use of force was justifiable.

Bryant’s death, which came on the same day that former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, garnered national attention by Black Lives Matter activists. 

Bryant’s death prompted protests throughout Columbus last week. Her death, in combination with shootings of other Black Columbus residents in recent years, including Andre Hill in December 2020, prompted Mayor Andrew Ginther to call for a review by the Department of Justices over the city’s policing practices.

“The city of Columbus is committed to reform,” Ginther wrote in the letter. “We must align with the reality of how we are policing with community expectations of how we should be policing.”

Prior to Bryant’s death, former Columbus police officer Adam Coy was arrested in February after fatally shooting Hill, who was unarmed and not accused of any crimes. Coy faced a judge earlier this week, entering a not guilty plea on a count of reckless homicide.