Funeral arrangements have been set for the woman shot to death Saturday in her home by a Fort Worth police officer.
Family PhotoA public funeral service for Atatiana Jefferson will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 at The Potter's House Church of Dallas, according to an attorney representing her family. It will follow a private wake ceremony Friday evening.
Jefferson was fatally shot early Saturday morning when a Fort Worth police officer responding to a welfare call fired on her from outside of her home. Inside the home, Jefferson, who was watching her 8-year-old nephew, was hit once and died at the scene. The child, though he witnessed the shooting, was not physically injured.
The officer, Aaron Dean, 35, is currently free on bond after being charged with her murder.
The killing early Saturday shocked people across the U.S. and led many black people to wonder once more whether they are no longer safe from police in their homes.
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Earlier this month, former Dallas officer Amber Guyger was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing Botham Jean, her neighbor, in his own apartment. Guyger said she mistook his place for hers and thought he was an intruder.
Tuesday night, dozens of people crowded Fort Worth's City Council chamber and hundreds more shouted outside to call for justice for Jefferson. Once the chamber's capacity was reached, about 200 others who could not make it inside shouted bitter protests outside City Hall to Fort Worth police and political leaders.
Of the nine officer-involved shootings so far this year in Fort Worth, five targeted African Americans and six resulted in death, according to department data.
Nearly two-thirds of the department's 1,100 officers are white, just over 20% are Hispanic, and about 10% are black. The city is about 40% white, 35% Hispanic and 19% black.
