The family of an eight-year-old girl killed in a police-involved shooting outside a high school football game in Pennsylvania in August 2021 has reached an $11 million settlement.
The decision was made in federal court more than two years after the incident that led to Fanta Bility’s death outside Academy Park High School in Sharon Hill, north of Philadelphia. Three other people were also injured in the incident.
The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office previously reported that the shooting resulted from teenagers firing during an argument.
The teenagers fired 25 shots at a car and a crowd leaving the football game in the small neighborhood near Philadelphia International Airport.
This prompted three police officers stationed nearby to fire their firearms.
Tragically, Fanta died from a single gunshot wound to the upper body.
Fanta Bility, 8, was killed on August 27, 2021, when police exchanged gunfire with a group of gunmen outside a high school football stadium in suburban Philadelphia
Authorities later determined that it was police shooting that led to her death.
Ballistics testing could not determine which officer fired the shot that killed her. However, a grand jury recommended that all three face charges after they fired a total of 25 shots.
“There is no amount of money that can ever bring Fanta back or erase the terrible tragedy of August 27, 2021 from our memories,” Fanta’s mother, Tenneh Kromah, said in a statement on NBC News.
“We hope to move forward and focus specifically on the Fanta Bility Foundation and keeping the Fanta name and legacy alive.”
The law firm representing the family said it hoped the settlement would “provide some measure of justice and accountability for those whose lives were forever changed by the incident.”
The three officers involved, Sean Dolan, 27, Devon Smith, 36, and Brian Devaney, 43, were fired from the police force and charged with involuntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment in connection with the incident on August 27, 2021.
Officers told investigators they believed a car driving toward them was the likely source of the gunfire, prompting them to return fire.
Bility was a rising third-grader who attended the game to support her older sister, who was a cheerleader, and her cousin, who attended the game
Fanta Bility died after being hit by a bullet in the upper body
The trio pleaded guilty to ten counts each of intentional endangerment in November 2022.
As part of the negotiations, manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter charges were dismissed and he was sentenced to five years probation in May.
Prosecutors said the agreement was reached after consultation with Bility’s family.
This settlement also ends three separate lawsuits filed against the District of Sharon Hill in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, alleging that it offered “minor closure to those affected.”
In a statement, the district expressed its condolences to the Bility family and committed to improving and implementing policies to prevent such tragedies while committed to the safety of Sharon Hill residents and restoring public trust.
Bility had attended the game with her mother and an older sister, who was also shot but survived. Her family, who belong to a community of immigrants from Guinea, described her as a sweet child who had a smile for everyone.
The teenagers who fired the first shots were both originally charged with murder in Bility’s death, but those charges were later dropped.
Alfredo “AJ” Ford, 16, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder, five counts of assault and endangerment and several weapons charges.
Protesters are seen outside the Delaware County Courthouse in January 2022, demanding police accountability over the death of 8-year-old Fanta Bility, who was shot outside a football game
Murder charges previously filed against two black teenagers, Angelo “AJ” Ford, 16 (left) and Hasein Strand, 19 (right), for firing shots that prompted officers to fire back, were also dropped last September
Hasein Strand, 19, of Collingdale, was charged with the same charges as Ford.
The two got into an argument and shots were fired.
The district attorney initially filed charges against the teens in the child’s death, but those charges were later dismissed.
Strand pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for injuring one of the other children struck by gunfire and illegally possessing a firearm.
Under the agreement, Strand is now serving a prison sentence of between 32 and 64 months.
Ford was also charged with his “attempt to kill Strand” and placed in a juvenile facility, from which he escaped in February 2022. He was later arrested again by police and taken to the county jail.