The Georgetown women’s basketball team has come under fire after it paid tribute to a former player who was shot dead by a police officer when she attacked him with a knife.
Dozens of social media users criticized the post, saying the former player attacked the officer and posed a risk to his life.
Shocking police body camera footage showed 6-foot-2 Sydney Wilson, 33, attacking Officer Peter Liu, armed with a knife, as he attempted to conduct a welfare check on Wilson.
The manager of the business premises punched the officer in the face several times before the officer fired his gun. Liu retreated down the hallway before firing three more shots, killing Wilson.
A row has now broken out involving Wilson’s old basketball team at Georgetown University after they paid tribute to her at X.
The team’s statement read: “Georgetown women’s basketball mourns the tragic loss of Sydney Wilson (C’13). Forever a Hoya.’
Shocking police body camera footage shows the moment a Virginia woman was shot dead by an officer after she attacked him with a knife
Sydney Wilson (pictured) was shot and killed by Officer Peter Liu after she attacked him with a knife while he was conducting a welfare check
A row has now erupted around Wilson’s old basketball team at Georgetown University after they paid tribute to her at X. The statement read: “Georgetown women’s basketball mourns the tragic loss of Sydney Wilson (C’13). Forever a Hoya’
The post has since been criticized online by social media users demanding it be removed.
One person said: ‘You should delete this out of shame.’
An X-user with the username Honest Abe wrote: “Tragic loss? She literally attacked with a knife in her hand.”
Nik Berg said: ‘How is this real?’
The row comes after Fairfax County police in Virginia released bodycam video showing the incident in detail.
It shows Officer Liu arriving at Wilson’s apartment in Reston, Virginia, at 10 a.m. on September 16 to conduct a welfare check.
Officer Liu – who had fourteen years of experience in crisis intervention – knocked on the door and Wilson opened it.
When the officer identified herself, she slammed it again.
For the next three minutes, the police officer continued to knock, but the 6-foot-2 Wilson opened the door and ordered him at knifepoint.
Wilson is accused of stabbing the officer in the face multiple times until the officer fired his gun.
The Georgetown women’s basketball team’s post has since been posted online by social media users
For three minutes the police officer kept knocking, but the 6-foot-2 Wilson opened the door and ordered him at knifepoint.
Liu retreated down the hallway before firing three more shots and calling for help.
Wilson was given CPR at the scene but was pronounced dead from the gunshot wounds at a local hospital.
Police Chief Kevin Davis said Liu did his best and prevented the situation from getting worse.
“It could have been much, much, much worse; The cut, laceration and laceration he suffered was located at the top of his forehead,” he said.
A mental health professional asked police to conduct a welfare check on Wilson.
Davis admitted that these types of checks are usually done with another mental health professional.
However, the usual colleague was not available at that time because they were busy talking.
Davis believes the doctor’s failure to appear prevented the incident from becoming more deadly.
“Doctors are absolutely exposing themselves to an element of danger every time they get out of a police car and go to a door or an accident scene or an outdoor scenario with a police officer, and there is an element of risk associated with that. ‘
Sydney Wilson, 33, a commercial real estate manager in the DC area, was visited by an officer for a welfare check at her Reston apartment at 10 a.m. on September 16.
Police Chief Kevin Davis said the officer did his best and prevented the situation from getting worse
He added that he doesn’t know that a mental health professional could have prevented the incident from happening the way it did.
Wilson, a former Georgetown University basketball player, was remembered by her former school in a Instagram after.
“Georgetown women’s basketball mourns the tragic loss of Sydney Wilson (C’13). Forever a Hoya.’
Officer Liu continues to perform administrative duties as the internal investigation into the shooting continues.