Two women were filming a TikTok video this May, using a rifle as a prop. One ended up dead and authorities arrested the other Friday on manslaughter charges.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, 20-year-old Mariah Clayton was arrested on manslaughter charges related to the death of 19-year-old Aniyah Womack.
Officers first responded to the scene of Womack’s shooting on Kendall Town Boulevard in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 24. She was alive when she was taken from the scene but later pronounced dead at a medical facility. Her family said she was in critical condition when they first arrived at the hospital, according to a First Coast News report.
“JSO’s Homicide Unit along with the Crime Scene Unit were notified and responded to conduct their individual investigations,” said the sheriff’s office of the incident.
At first, two people who drove Womack to the hospital (including Clayton) said that they saw her walking on the sidewalk and picked her up. Later, the man who was driving the car told detectives that he actually went to an apartment to purchase marijuana and was told there that Womack shot herself, according to News 4 Jax.
During further interviews, witnesses said Clayton and Womack were in a bathroom filming videos for the social media platform TikTok. One witness said Clayton was holding rifle and that Womack was filming her popping out of the shower with the gun.
“A short time later, a man entered the room, said they didn’t need to be playing with the rifle and tried to take the gun from Clayton, JSO said,” per News 4 Jax. “Clayton then began to pull away and the man said, ‘Let me check something,’ and reached for the rifle before it went off, a witness told police. The witness said they thought the man was going to check the safety of the gun held by Clayton, but he did not touch it before it went off.”
Womack sustained a gunshot wound to her stomach. Witness testimony indicates that Clayton was holding the gun when it went off.
“Clayton, while attempting to film Tik-Tok videos, was inappropriately handling the rifle and was culpably negligent in her actions even after being told that she should not be playing with the rifle,” said her warrant, as cited by News 4 Jax. “The culpably negligent actions of Ms. Clayton led her to be directly responsible for the death of Aniyah Womack.”
She was is currently being held on a $250,000 bond as of Sunday.
First Coast News reported that Womack’s family held a press conference at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital
“We still need the support,” said her cousin, Autumn Redding. “We still need the motivation. We need the community to keep sharing because it is just the beginning. We’re here today because we want to remember where it all started, and we want to bring a positive end to it as well.”
Redding said there should be a trial for Clayton.
Just this week, Utah filed a lawsuit against TikTok. It claimed that the popular social media company is “baiting” children and teens into harmful social media habits.