3 Pa. Officers Charged with Fatally Shooting 8-Year-Old Fanta Bility Outside H.S. Football Game

Fanta Bility.Photo: Facebook

Criminal charges have been filed in Pennsylvania against the three police officers who were involved in the shooting death of 8-year-oldFanta Bilityoutside a high school football game last summer, PEOPLE confirms.

On Tuesday, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office announced that three Sharon Hill police officers are each charged with a dozen criminal counts, including voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and reckless endangerment.

It was unclear Wednesday morning if the three officers — Devon Smith, 33, Sean Dolan, 25, and Brian Devaney, 41 — had been arraigned or asked to enter pleas to the charges. According to theDA’s statement, bail was set at $500,000, unsecured, for each defendant. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 27.

A grand jury, first empaneled back in November, recommended the charges against the officers.

The shooting outside the Academy Park High School in Sharon Hill happened the evening of August 27 — moments after that school’s victory over Pennsbury High School.

Smith, Dolan and Devaney were at the school to help control the crowd of fans leaving the football game.

At the time, the policemen said they had fired their weapons in response to gunfire they believed was directed at them. They were placed on administrative leave in the wake of the shooting.

Soon after the violent incident that killed Fanta and wounded her sister, officials declared the fatal bulletslikely came from the officers' guns.

Brian Devaney, Sean Dolan, and Devon Smith.Delaware County District Attorney’s Office

The murder charges against them were withdrawn, according to the DA.

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Ford is still charged with aggravated assault for his alleged involvement in the shooting, while Strand has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and illegal possession of a firearm, for which he’ll serve between 2 1/2 to 5 years in prison, per the press release.

The shootout also left Fanta’s older sister, Mamasu Bility, 12, injured with a graze wound to her neck,according tothe Delaware Valley Journal.

Alona Ellison-Acosta was also shot — in the foot — while and Anya Kellan suffered a graze wound to her ankle, the paper reports.

“I fully realize that the tragic death of Fanta and the trauma inflicted on her family, the other victims, and community members involved, has been emotionally draining to all, including the investigators and prosecutors assigned,” District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in a statement.

source: people.com