George Floyd’s girlfriend was Daunte Wright’s teacher, Wright’s aunt says

An aunt of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man fatally shot by police in Minnesota during a traffic stop, revealed a connection between her family and George Floyd on Tuesday.

Wright’s aunt, Naisha Wright, said during a press conference that a former girlfriend of Floyd had also been her nephew’s teacher at one point.

She made the remark during a press conference held by attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing both the Floyd and Wright families.

Naisha Wright, wearing a T-shirt designed with a photo of Floyd, pointed to the shirt while discussing the two families’ ties.

“I wear this shirt and the craziest thing is to find out today that my family has connections to this man, to this family. His girlfriend was the teacher for my nephew,” she said, gesturing to the shirt, which read the word “justice” below the bottom of Floyd’s picture.

Wow: Daunte Wright’s aunt says George Floyd’s girlfriend was Daunte’s former teacher pic.twitter.com/nYvjsYuds1

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 13, 2021

Daunte Wright’s aunt Naisha Wright delivers emotional plea: ’My nephew was 20 years old … he was loved. He was ours. He came from us … my nephew’s blood is on your hands’ (Warning: distressing) pic.twitter.com/0CbT9RMkzM

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 13, 2021

The Hill has reached out to Crump’s team for comment. 

Sunday’s police shooting in the Minneapolis suburb has added fuel to a nationwide discussion around police treatment of Black Americans, even as the country awaits a verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin over Floyd’s death.

Chauvin was charged with murdering Floyd after the former officer was recorded kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes during an arrest last year. Floyd’s death sparked months of continued protests against police brutality and racial inequality across the country.

Protests have begun to break out in parts of the country following the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on Sunday. The city is about 10 miles from where Chauvin’s trial is taking place in Minneapolis.

Police said that during the traffic stop on Sunday that led to Wright’s death, the officer who fatally shot the 20-year-old thought she was deploying her Taser but instead fired her service weapon.

Kim Potter, the officer police identified as the person who shot Wright, resigned shortly after his death, saying in a statement Tuesday that she felt the decision was “in the best interest of the community, the department, and to my fellow officers.”