The all-world athlete posted the message on Twitter alongside an attached photo of Columbus Police Officer Nicholas Reardon, identified as the cop who shot the 16-year-old during a domestic dispute in Ohio city Tuesday.
“YOU’RE NEXT,” he wrote, followed by an emoticon of an hourglass. “#ACCOUNTABILITY,” Fox News reported Wednesday.
James later deleted it, and added as a follow-up: “ANGER does any of us any good and that includes myself! Gathering all the facts and educating does though! My anger still is here for what happened that lil girl. My sympathy for her family and may justice prevail!”
WHISTLEBLOWER ALERT: INSIDER CONFESSES EPA'S FATEFUL ERRORS AMID TOXIC CHAOS IN EAST PALESTINE
The pointed tweet came after a jury in Minneapolis on Tuesday convicted ex-cop Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter in the police custody death of George Floyd.
“ACCOUNTABILITY,” James, who has long been a vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter and has spoken out on racial justice issues, tweeted after the verdict.
DECEIVED AND DEPLOYED: HOW HUNDREDS OF SRI LANKANS WERE TRICKED INTO FIGHTING RUSSIA'S WAR
Authorities in Ohio on Wednesday identified Reardon as the officer who shot Bryant, and announced state investigators are probing the incident.
Columbus police responded to a 911 call on Tuesday evening to find a group of teenage girls in a physical altercation in a suburban front yard. Police body cam footage released by Columbus officials shows Bryant scuffling with two other girls, and lunging at one of them with what appears to be a knife in her hand.
DEBATE DRAMA: WILL TRUMP BAIL? 'VIEW' HOST SAYS ‘COUNT ON IT,’ DESPITE CONFIRMED DATES
That’s when Reardon is seen firing four rounds, dropping the teen to the ground mortally wounded. She later died at a local hospital.
WATCH: RAGING ANTI-SEMITIC IMAM ON VIDEO FOR THE WORLD TO SEE...
"We don't yet have all of the facts but we do know that a 16-year-old girl, a child of this community, tragically died last night," Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther told reporters after the fatal incident.
"Bottom line: Did Ma'Khia Bryant need to die yesterday?" he added. "How did we get here? This is a failure on the part of our community. Some are guilty but all of us are responsible."
BILLIONAIRE'S PLAYBOOK: HOW SOROS-BACKED GROUPS PLAN TO MUZZLE YOUR VOICE
Ginther said state investigators will determine "if the officer involved was wrong, and if he was we will hold him accountable."
The shooting comes at a time when police use of force around the nation -- and in Columbus specifically -- is under new scrutiny. In February, former Columbus police officer Adam Coy was indicted on charges related to the fatal shooting of Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man.
SEE ANTONY BLINKEN'S ‘ROCKIN’ RESPONSE TO UKRAINIAN CONFLICT
Late Wednesday afternoon, a crowd of demonstrators -- including Ohio State University students -- marched in downtown Columbus toward the state Capitol building. They chanted "Black lives matter" and "Hands up. Don't shoot." They also chanted Ma'Khia Bryant's name.
Discover alternative ideas that will make you think
Engage in mind bending debate
Earn points, rise in rank, have fun
