Ciara Meyer: Family of 12-year-old girl shot by police say they have 'no hard feelings' towards constable
The schoolgirl was shot dead at her home in Duncannon, Pennsylvania after her father brandished a rifle at Constable Clark Steele
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The family of a girl shot dead by a constable as he tried to serve an eviction notice to her father has said they do not blame him.
Ciara Meyer was shot dead at her home in Duncannon, Pennsylvania on Monday after Constable Clark Steele fired a shot at her father Donald Meyer ,57, when he brandished a loaded rifle at him.
Constable Steele hit Meyer in the arm but the bullet shattered the bone and travelled through him and hit Ciara in the chest. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ron Rhodes, a relative of Ciara through marriage, told Mail Online they had “no hard feelings” towards the constable and that he had “cried for him”.
He said: “None of us in our family have any hard feelings toward him. Actually we feel sorry for him. He's got to live with this, the poor man, and he had no idea what he was walking into.
“She was such a little angel. Such a positive little girl. She was such a sweetheart.”
The constable had arrived at the Meyer home at around 10am on Monday morning - where Ciara had stayed home sick from school - to serve an eviction notice after they failed to pay $1,708.85 in rent (£1,186).
Meyer has been charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, terroristic threats and recklessly endangering another person.
He is currently in hospital and will have a preliminary court hearing on 15 January.
No charges have currently been filed against Constable Steele.
A GoFundMe fundraising page has been set up to pay for Ciara’s funeral expenses and to create a domestic violence and mental illness scholarship in her name.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments