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Family Of DelCo Girl Killed By Police Gunfire Files Federal Lawsuit

The family of a young girl who was killed by police gunfire in Delaware County earlier this year has filed a federal lawsuit.

Fanta Bility

Fanta Bility

Photo Credit: GoFundMe screenshot/Siddiq Mohamed

The 10-page lawsuit named the borough of Sharon Hill, Sharon Hill police chief Joseph Kelly, police officers John Scanlan III and Devon Smith, as well as an unspecified number of additional officers whose names are unknown by the Bility family.

Fanta Bility, 8, was killed when gunfire rang out outside Academy Park High School after a football game on Aug. 27, Daily Voice reported.

Preliminary ballistics analysis has concluded with "near certainty" that the shots that fatally struck Bility and injured four others were fired by police officers, District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer previously said.

The incident began when "a group of young males engaged in a verbal confrontation that turned into gunfire on the 900 block of Coates Street, one block west of the entrance to the Academy Park High School football stadium," Stollsteimer said.

As the gunfire erupted, a car turned onto Coates Street directly in front of three officers, he added.

"We have concluded that the gunfire, combined with the movement of the vehicle, precipitated responsive gunfire from the Sharon Hill police officers."

It's believed that four of the five gunshot victims, including Bility and her sister, were struck by shots fired by the Sharon Hill police officers, according to Stollsteimer.

The DA's office is still awaiting final forensic results.

No weapon was found after a search of the vehicle and its occupants, sources told 6abc Action News. 

The girl's family wants the officers involved fired and seeks compensation for the trauma Bility's death and her sister's injuries caused the family.

"The actions committed by Defendants constitute intentional misconduct, unreasonable and excessive use of force, and deliberate indifference to Plaintiffs' constitutional rights," the complaint reads.

The three officers who discharged their weapons have been placed on administrative duties pending the results of the investigation.

Charges against the officers are pending until a grand jury investigation is completed.

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