Chicago – July 28, 2024
As the nation reacts to the gruesome video of a sheriff’s deputy shooting Sonya Massey in the face, vigils have been planned around the country this weekend to mourn her death.
Activists have declared Sunday a National Day of Mourning for Massey, with gatherings planned in New York, Los Angeles and Massey’s home of Springfield, Illinois.
Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, had called 911 to report a possible intruder. She was standing with two deputies in her Springfield, home and holding a pot of boiling water when Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean P. Grayson shot her in the head on July 6.
As another deputy was clearing the house, Grayson began “aggressively yelling” at Massey to put down a pot of boiling water she had removed from her stove, although he had given her permission to do so.
An autopsy released Friday confirmed she was killed by a bullet that entered under her left eye.
Grayson has been charged with murder and pleaded not guilty.
The harrowing details of the killing have sparked national outrage.
