Springfield, Ill. — An Illinois community called for justice and the release of bodycam video after a Black woman was fatally shot by deputies last week following her call to 9-1-1 reporting a possible intruder at her home.
Sonya Massey, 36, was shot after deputies arrived at her home in Springfield around 1 a.m. on July 6, according to a news release from Illinois State Police (ISP).
In a news release, SCSO said deputies responded to call reporting a prowler.
Around 1:21 a.m. the responding deputies reported shots fired. Massey was shot. She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Ben Crump, an attorney representing Massey’s family, said in a statement the shooting occurred after Massey called police because she believed there was an intruder in her home.
“It is extremely hard to imagine how a woman who calls the police out of fear of an intruder ends up shot in the head by police at her own home,” Crump said in the statement. “We demand that all body camera footage from this incident be released immediately so that Sonya’s family and the public can see what happened in those thirty deadly minutes. No family should have to endure the pain and suffering that Sonya’s loved ones are experiencing right now.”
On Friday, dozens of protestors gathered outside of the Sangamon County building calling for justice for Massey, and demanded authorities release body camera video of the shooting.
ISP is investigating the shooting at the request of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office. The agency said body camera video and related information was not being immediately released to “protect the integrity of the legal process.”
More on the fatal shooting investigation and calls for justice.