Police constable attempting to ‘enforce an eviction order’ fired a shot at Ciara Meyer’s father that passed through the man’s arm and hit her, officials said

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A police constable in Pennsylvania killed a 12-year-old girl when he fired a shot at the girl’s father that passed through the man’s arm and hit her, officials said on Tuesday.

Ciara Meyer was pronounced dead at her home on Monday morning after Constable Clarke Steele attempted to “enforce an eviction order” on her family in Duncannon, north of Harrisburg, according to officials.

When Steele approached the apartment, Ciara’s father, Donald Meyer, allegedly opened and then shut the door before opening it a second time armed with a rifle, officials said. Steele and Meyer exchanged words briefly before Meyer “leveled” the rifle at Steele, according to police. Steele fired a single shot at Meyer, who was struck in the upper left arm before his daughter was hit, police said.

A spokesman with the Pennsylvania state police, the agency investigating the shooting, estimated that the entire incident occurred “within seconds”.

Both Steele and Meyer are white, as was Ciara.

Meyer, 57, was transported to a nearby hospital and treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. He was arraigned from the hospital by video and charged with multiple counts, including aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Steele has voluntarily suspended himself, according to Bill Stoessler, spokesman for the Commonwealth Constables Association, where Steele is a member. Constables in Pennsylvania are independent officers that can be elected or appointed, Stoessler said. They are not part of any broader law enforcement agency and work primarily for the lower-level courts in the state.

Steele was recently re-elected to his position, Stoessler said.

Stoessler said Steele was “shattered” by Ciara’s death and that he was cooperating fully with state police.

The local prosecutor is assisting state police in their investigation and will review the findings.

Ciara is the 21st person and the first child to be killed by law enforcement in 2016, according to an ongoing Guardian investigation. The Guardian launched the project, The Counted, to track killings by law enforcement in the US due to the lack of reliable federal data on the issue. In 2015, at least 1,138 people were killed by police, according to the investigation.