Fanta Bility's family demands justice as they remember her, 1 year after her death

SHARON HILL, Pa. - It’s been one year since Fanta Bility was shot and killed by police at a high school football game. The community gathered Saturday at one of her favorite spots in Sharon Hill to honor and remember a shining life cut way too short.

"I look forward to this day because it’s been a year and we need to remember this young lady and we need to know who this family is," a speaker at Fanta's memorial said.

A heartbroken mother, surrounded and supported by family, friends and even strangers, struggles to come to grips with the fact she has been without her daughter for an entire year.

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Police say on August 27, 2021, Bility and her family were leaving the Academy Park High School football field among a crowd of fans when a shooting between two young men erupted. Bullets from that shooting came in the direction of three Sharon Hill Police officers, who were monitoring the crowd.

The officers returned fire, shooting toward a car they believed was involved in the initial gunfire, striking the car and members of the crowd. Fanta Bility was fatally struck by the officer’s bullets, according to officials.

A year later, the family has gathered to not just seek justice, but to ensure Fanta Bility is remembered.

"Fanta had a very giving spirit. She would constantly give food and clothes to her friends. Especially with those in her neighborhood of Sharon Hill. She loved helping others in need," another speaker said.

Her mother, Tenneh Kromah, still in shock, remembers her lost daughter. "I’m so sad. Fanta was somebody who was so kind. Who was so good."

An attorney for the family says they were refused the opportunity to see the football field on the anniversary of Fanta's death.

"The family member and the former prosecutor wanted to see with their own eyes the conditions as they would have been one year ago to the minute, to the second, when Fanta lost her life," attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. said.

According to Castor, members of the South Eastern School Board would not allow the lights to be turned on from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday:

"The quiet viewing of the scene on the anniversary of Fanta’s death at the same time in similar weather and identical lighting conditions thus became impossible. The action by the members of the South Eastern School Board kept people from seeing the truth of the lighting conditions and evaluating for themselves the ability for officers to see at the moment they decided to use deadly force. 

Sharon Hill Borough’s police fired at a moving car riddling it with bullets. In so doing, they shot innocent people and ended Fanta’s life. That the members of the school board did not want people to see the area under similar conditions to the night of the shootings is eerily reminiscent of the decision by Sharon Hill council members to black out critical portions of the commissioned report by former Philadelphia District Attorney Kelley Hodge."

Currently, the three officers involved in the shooting are charged with 12 counts of manslaughter and reckless endangerment. A heavily redacted 55-page report has been released, as Bility family members demand a non-redacted version.

For now, they carry young Fanta’s memory in their hearts.

"Fanta was a beautiful person, although her life was cut short. We always want he to be remembered," Fanta's uncle, Abu Bility, stated.