Black Man Shot And Killed By Police While Entering His Own Home

His 72-year-old grandma and two toddlers witnessed the killing

A 23-year-old Black man was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy working for the U.S. Marshal’s fugitive task force while entering his own home.

Casey Goodson was killed Friday by Jason Meade, a 17-year veteran of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Columbus, Ohio. Meade was looking for violent offenders at the time and shot and killed Goodson, who was not the person police were looking for, according to CNN.

Goodson was putting his house key into the door lock when Meade shot him. He fell into the kitchen, where two toddlers and his 72-year-old grandmother were watching. He was holding a Subway sandwich at the time of the shooting.

Goodson had a gun at the time of the shooting but was a licensed conceal carry permit owner. Ohio doesn’t prohibit open carry of firearms. According to Columbus Division of Police, Meade reported seeing a man with a gun and entered into a verbal exchange with Goodson prior to the shooting. He was not alleged to have committed any crimes and has no criminal record.

Also, according to police, there were no eye witnesses to the shooting nor body camera footage, as the Franklin County Sheriff’s task force officers aren’t issued body cameras.

Kaylee Harper, who identified herself as Mr. Goodson’s sister, wrote on Facebook that he “literally walked across the yard, walked into the back fence to get to the side door, had his subway and mask in one hand keys in the other, UNLOCKED AND OPENED THE DOOR and stepped in the house” before Meade shot him.

Family attorney Sean Walton is demanding answers for the family and wants Meade held accountable for the Goodson’s killing. “At this point, witness testimony and physical evidence raise serious concerns about why Casey was even confronted, let alone why he was shot dead while entering his own home,” Walton told CNN. In a statement, he also said, “Even hours after his death, the keys that he used to let himself in the house as he was shot and killed hung in the door — a reminder to his family of how close he was to safety.”

An investigation has been opened by the Department of Justice and will look at whether there was sufficient evidence that Meade was justified in shooting Goodson, according to Columbus Police. “This offers the highest level of transparency and a clear path to the truth,” Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said.

David Yost, Ohio’s attorney general, said on Twitter that his office was “invited in three days after the fact — after CPD processed and cleared the scene, after the first round of witnesses were interviewed, after the canvass,” explaining why the investigation is sitting with Columbus PD rather than his office. “We do these tough investigations all the time—but from the beginning. This one belongs to CPD.”