The fatal shooting of Korryn Gaines has been the topic of controversy for some time. However, not many people are aware of the questionably bizarre details leading up to her death.

Gaines had a long history of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and several traffic offenses. Not too long before she was killed by police, Gaines was stopped for having a missing license plate. In place of her license plate, there was a piece of cardboard with the following message written on it: “Any government official who compromises this pursuit to happiness and right to travel, will be held criminally responsible and fined, as this is a natural right to freedom.”

During one of her run-ins with law enforcement, Gaines recorded herself throwing her traffic citation out of the window, badmouthing the police officer that pulled her over, and shouting to her five-year-old son that the police were trying to kill them. Gaines even went as far as to tell the police officer that he would have to murder her before she got out of the car. However, there were no signs of police using force or making any attempt to hurt her at all.

Unlike the rest of the deadly encounters that minorities have recently had with police, the police officer in the video is clearly seen being respectful and polite when dealing with Gaines. It is Gaines who immediately becomes agitated and causes the situation to escalate on more than one occasion.

The final deadly incidence took place a few weeks later when police came to Gaines’ house in order to serve a warrant for the arrest of herself and her boyfriend, Kareem Courtney. According to reports, her boyfriend was wanted for assault.

Although Gaines did not answer the door, police were able to hear a man and a woman’s voice from inside of the apartment, as well as a crying child. The officers then got a key from the landlord and entered her home.

Upon entering the home, the police officer saw Gaines sitting on the floor, pointing a shotgun at him. Her boyfriend, Kareem Courtney then attempted to flee the apartment with his child, however police were able to capture him. Courtney informed policed that Gaines had a mental illness and was unstable.

Police spent hours attempting to negotiate with Gaines, and begging her to surrender. They event brought in her family to help talk her down, but all attempts were unsuccessful.

In her final moments alive, Gaines pointed her shotgun directly at a police officer standing in her doorway, causing the officer to fire a shot. Gaines fired a shot in return, prompting the officer to fire the last three shots that fatally killed her.

Upon hearing of this incident, the Black Lives Matter movement was in an uproar. Although Gaines was fatally shot by a police officer, was this really a case of police brutality against blacks? It is clear that Gaines had some type of mental issues, as she had many clearly documented run-ins with police, where she continually provoked them, and constantly egged them on for no apparent reason.

In the videos that she posted before her death, Gaines was uncooperative and disrespectful to the police officers who pulled her over. There was no sign of police brutality or discrimination during these encounters. After investigations into the Baltimore County Police Department were completed, it was decided that no charges would be filed against the officer that shot and killed Gaines. As a result, the Black Lives Matter movement was incredibly upset over this decision, as they felt that police were unjustified in shooting and killing her.

At what point is it necessary to gain control over an impossible situation and take matters into your own hands? Gaines was armed and was reportedly pointing her shotgun at her five-year-old son, as well as at police. With all that is going on in the world, is it too difficult to decipher between self-defense and deliberate killing?