An Indianapolis mother was shot and killed early Sunday after she reportedly told a group of Black Lives Matter supporters “all lives matter”.
Jessica Doty Whitaker was taking a stroll with her fiancé, Jose Ramirez and two others along the Indianapolis Canal Walk around 3am, when one of them used a slang version of the n-word.
However, a group of people nearby overheard and objected the use of the phrase that started a confrontation between strangers.
The offended individuals reportedly shouted “Black Lives Matter”, and apparently, Whitaker or another person retorted, “All Lives Matter”.
Eventually, the two sides talked through the issues, fist bumped and walked away from each other.
“It was squashed and they went up the hill and left we thought, but they were sitting on St. Clair waiting for us to come under the bridge and that’s when she got shot,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez admitted to have fired back, but did not hit anyone.
“She shouldn’t have lost her life. She’s got a 3-year-old son she loved dearly,” he said.
The fiancé shared that explaining to Jessica’s son Greyson that he’ll never see his mom again, is the hardest part for the family.
“It’s hard to tell him his mom is in heaven and if you want to talk to her you have to look up and say, ‘I love you mom,” he said.
Just a week earlier, two people were shot on the same part of canal where a 14-year-old identified as Curtis White Junior died in an attempted armed robbery.
Despite the recent incidents, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Captain Jerry Leary said that the canal “is still a safe to go.”
The IMPD, together with Indiana State Police, the Department of Metropolitan Development and the parks department added security protocols in the area, including added security cameras and increase in patrols.