need to know
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Shaquille O’Neal is paying for the funeral of 12-year-old Jada West, who died days after a March 5 fight at a school bus intersection in Georgia.
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O’Neill said in a statement to ABC News and Savannah Now that the girl’s story “touched my heart the moment I saw it.”
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The girl’s death is under investigation by law enforcement
Shaquille O’Neal is paying for the funeral of a 12-year-old girl who died after a fight at a school bus stop.
O’Neal, 54, said in a statement to ABC News and Savannah Now that Jada West’s story “touched me when I saw it in the media.”
“As a father, my heart goes out to Jada’s family. No parent should have to bury their child, and if I can do anything to ease that burden, even in a small way, then it’s the right thing to do,” said O’Neill, who works part-time as community relations director for the nearby Henry County Sheriff’s Office and has held that position since 2021.
“Our community must surround this family with love, support and compassion during such a painful time,” O’Neill concluded in his statement.
Shaquille O’Neal November 14, 2022
Photo credit: Paras Griffin/Getty
O’Neill is working with the Henry and Douglas County Sheriffs, located outside Atlanta, to help the family handle the funeral, ABC reported.
Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds told the outlet, “When a child’s life is taken so tragically, it affects all of us. Our goal is simple. We want Jada’s family to know they are not alone and that communities across Georgia stand with them during this extremely difficult time.”
Jada, a student at Mason Creek Middle School, collapsed after fighting with another student at a school bus stop near her home in Winston, Georgia, on March 5, ABC reported. Atlanta News 1 reported that a video shared by an attorney for Jada’s family showed that Jada’s head appeared to hit the pavement during the fight. She died in hospital three days later, which her mother said was due to brain damage.
ABC reports that Villarrica police are investigating the cause of her death.
Jada West via GoFundMe
Image source: GoFundMe
Jada, whose family said she was a freshman at the high school, reportedly went into cardiac arrest after the fight, which lasted about 25 seconds, Atlanta News First reported. Her family said they were seeking “accountability” and urged the state of Georgia to correct what they called a “bullying problem.”
Police spokesman Sgt. Detectives are looking at cellphone footage of the fight and other evidence and will review the autopsy results once completed, Spencer Crawford told ABC on March 11.
Lawyers representing the girl’s family claimed Jada had been “bullied” before the argument on March 5, the outlet reported.
The Douglas County School System said in a statement that “this incident did not occur on school property or during school hours, and there is no indication that it was related to any campus activity,” ABC reported.
O’Neill also paid for funeral expenses for a family who lost their four young daughters in a North Carolina house fire last September. “This is not just a gesture of support, it is a moral obligation,” he said at the time.
Read the original article on People
