Missouri police officer fatally shot 2-month-old baby and her mother after relative called police for help, family says

A Missouri family and community are mourning the tragic death of a 34-year-old woman and her infant daughter who were killed in an officer-involved shooting earlier this month.

Family members say Maria Pike and her 2-month-old daughter, Destinii Hope, were shot to death on November 7 after police were called to an apartment in Independence, Missouri, in response to a domestic disturbance.

In the weeks for the reason that shooting, local law enforcement has released few details, but eyewitnesses have provided local media with their accounts of what happened.

said Talisa Coombs, the baby’s grandmother Kansas City Star that she was the one who called the police after a physical altercation with the kid’s mother. Family members say Maria Pike has had mental health issues, anger issues and most recently suffered from postpartum depression.

Coombs said that when she called the police, she thought authorities would arrive, arrest Pike and get her the assistance she needed. She told her son and Destinia’s father, Mitchell Holder, that she desired to press charges against Pike for assault.

When police arrived, Holder initially refused to allow them to inside, however the apartment constructing’s assistant manager persuaded him to let two officers inside.

Assistant manager Gavin Delaney told The Star that when police entered the apartment, Pike was sitting within the bedroom closet, holding Destinia, not doing or saying anything.

Destinia’s father, who witnessed the shooting, recounted the moments leading as much as the shooting to his sister, Ashley Greenfield.

Greenfield told The Star that when officers entered the apartment, she and Holder tried to take the baby from Pike as she moved from the closet to the bed. Greenfield stated that when Pike reached for an object on the nightstand, the officer shot the baby in the top while he was still in his mother’s arms.

Holder later recalled his horrified response to the shooting of “The Kansas City Defender.”

“They shot my baby,” Holder said outlet. “It looked like her head had exploded. Her blood splattered throughout my glasses and throughout me. All I could do was scream. I just kept repeating three words – the identical three words – “You killed her!” I screamed it. Time and time again.”

He added that Pike jumped after the primary shot and the officer opened fire on her.

Accounts vary as as to if Pike had a gun when officers entered the apartment.

Local news outlets reported that among the many few details police have released up to now concerning the shooting is that Pike was armed with a knife.

“When we arrived, officers encountered a woman who was ultimately armed with a knife,” said Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman. “As a result of this encounter, two people died, one was an armed woman and the other was a child.”

However, family members say otherwise. Before calling the police, Destinia’s grandmother stated that there have been no weapons in the home. Holder also said he never saw Pike holding a knife in the course of the encounter with police.

“Yes, I was in the room when it all happened,” Holder he said. “From what I saw, I never once saw Maria armed with anything. Honestly, I do not even know where that got here from. I heard crazy things like she held a baby hostage in a closet, that she had a knife, and all this crazy stuff that is not true. I mean, all I can say is that it’s possible she had a knife and I didn’t see it, but all I do know is that I never saw her holding anything – and I used to be there within the room.

Independence police said the investigation has been turned over to the Jackson County Police Involvement Investigative Team (PIIT), a team of detectives that investigates police shootings and use of force incidents.

Chief Dustman said just one officer, a “long-time law enforcement veteran,” fired in the course of the incident. The officer and two other people on the scene were placed on administrative leave.

Capt. Kyle Flowers, who heads the PIIT team investigating the shooting, said last week that investigators had reviewed body camera footage and planned to interview witnesses. According to KMBCthe team will turn over the findings of the investigation to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, but Flowers didn’t specify exactly when that will occur.

Family members have called on authorities to release the body camera footage, which is able to hopefully reveal once and for all whether Pike was armed with a knife on the time of the shooting. They also call for punishment of the officers involved within the shooting.

“Why hasn’t the body camera footage been released?” Amber Travis, cousin of the victims, he said at a community vigil for Pike and her daughter. “Give my family a break.”

“It means a lot that the community feels the same way we do,” Holder he said. “It means the world. It won’t bring her back, but no less than we all know now we have loads of support here.

AND GoFundMe page was created to assist pay for Destinia’s funeral. As of Wednesday afternoon, greater than $3,000 had been raised.

On November 22, Destinii would have turned 3 months old.