Family of teen killed in Alderwood mall shooting upset over release of video

LYNNWOOD, Wash. — Emotions are still raw for the family of Jayda Woods-Johnson, the 13-year-old girl killed in a shooting at Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood on July 3rd.

“I saw her three days before and to have her now sitting in a jar of ashes is still mind boggling,” said Cali Huffman, Jayda’s cousin.

Mall security video released and blurred by Lynnwood PD shows a group of teenage boys with Woods-Johnson walking nearby with a friend near the food court.

Suddenly, a fight breaks out, with one of the boys punching 16-year-old Samuel Gizaw in the face.

Several boys run off, as Gizaw allegedly pulls a gun to go after the person who hit him.

Gizaw’s accused of firing a shot that killed Jayda, who was an innocent bystander.

Police body cam video shows responding officers arriving at the mall within minutes after the shooting and giving the victim CPR.

Jayda’s cousin says the family is upset because they first saw the videos after another news outlet posted them on Tuesday.

“We didn’t have first access to it like we were promised. I opened my phone and there it was,” said Huffman.

She says Lynnwood PD should have made sure the family was allowed to see the videos before they went public.

“It was heartbreaking because we were promised that we would see it first. The way that it was publicized before we even had a chance to process it, it was like reliving it all over again,” said Huffman.

Lynnwood PD gave KIRO 7 a statement, saying in part, “Within a very short time frame after that video was released, our detectives found out and immediately contacted jayda’s family and apologized. It was never our intent to have the family view the video that way without any heads up.”

Families of both teens were in court for a bail hearing Wednesday.

The defense is asking the judge to lower Gizaw’s bail from $2 million to $790,000.

©2024 Cox Media Group