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On Dec. 5, Atatiana Jefferson’s 11-year-old nephew, Zion Carr took the stand to testify against former police officer Aaron Dean for her fatal 2019 shooting.
The young child, who was 8 years old at the time of the incident, said he did not see Jefferson point her gun at the white Fort Worth officer, CNN noted.
“She just held it next to her side, she just like, she didn’t point it up, she just kept it next to her,” he told prosecutors. Defense attorneys for Dean later argued that Zion’s testimony was different from the statement he gave police earlier.
During cross-examination, Dean’s defense claimed Zion previously told investigators that his aunt had pulled the gun up “a little bit” when she went toward the window to see who was outside, AP News reported.
Zion said he did not remember giving the earlier statement. According to his attorney, the young child has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since the death of his aunt, CNN noted.
What happened to Atatiana Jefferson?
Atatiana Jefferson’s tragic shooting took place on Oct. 12, 2019, at her home in Fort Worth, Texas. Dean and one other officer were responding to a neighbor who reported that Jefferson’s doors were open in the middle of the night. The neighbor reportedly called a nonemergency police number to ask for a safety check at the house.
On Monday, Zion offered more details about the events that led up to his aunt’s shooting. The youngster said he was in the bedroom playing video games with his “Aunt Tay” just before she was shot.
Zion testified that he had accidentally burned hamburgers earlier in the night, so they opened up the door to let some fresh air in the house.
As they were playing video games, Jefferson became suspicious after she heard noise stirring outside. According to his testimony, Jefferson went to her purse to grab her gun, but he did not see her raise her firearm toward the window. Zion said he did not hear or see anything outside, but he instantly knew something was wrong when he saw his aunt fall to the ground and start crying.
“I was thinking, ‘Is it a dream?’” he testified. “She was crying and just shaking.” Zion said he did not know about his aunt’s death until later on. “I was very upset,” he added.
Dean has since pleaded not guilty to shooting Jefferson. He’s been free on a $200,000 bond since the incident occurred. Body camera footage showed that neither Dean nor the other officer identified themselves as police before the shooting took place. Defense attorneys for Dean argued that he opened fire because he saw a silhouette of Jefferson with a gun in the window.
Jefferson’s shooting trial is expected to last about two weeks. If convicted, Dean could face 5 to 99 years in prison.
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