Trial for Texas officer who killed Black woman hinges on gun

By JAKE BLEIBERG
Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The 11-year-old nephew of a Black woman fatally shot by a white Texas police officer says his aunt had a gun but didn’t raise it to point at the officer. Zion Carr was 8 when then-officer Aaron Dean killed Atatiana Jefferson in 2019. Now 11, the child testified on Monday that Jefferson pulled out a gun when she heard sounds behind the house. But he said she never raised it and kept it pointed down. Whether Dean saw Jefferson’s gun before opening fire is central to the long-delayed case. Dean’s lawyers say he saw the gun. Prosecutors contend he didn’t.