Fanta Bility

Fanta Bility, 8, was shot and killed by Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania police officers outside a high school football game on August 27, 2021, when three officers fired 25 rounds into a car they mistakenly believed was the source of gunfire that had broken out roughly 140 feet away. Two Black teenagers who had actually exchanged gunfire nearby were initially charged with first-degree murder in her death under a transferred-intent theory, even though evidence already showed police bullets had killed her; those charges were withdrawn after public outcry. A grand jury then recommended manslaughter charges against the three officers, Brian Devaney, Sean Dolan, and Devon Smith, who instead pleaded guilty in November 2022 to 10 counts each of the lesser charge of reckless endangerment and were sentenced to five years' probation, the first 11 months on house arrest. Investigators said they could not determine which officer's bullet killed her. No one has ever been convicted of causing Fanta Bility's death.

Sharon Hill, PA · Delaware County

• 2021: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• The nearby gunfire, the officers' shots into the car, and Fanta's death, per a Delaware County grand jury presentment and Philadelphia Inquirer reporting on the criminal case.
• Two teenagers, Hasein Strand and Angelo Ford, exchanged gunfire about 140 feet from the stadium exit after an argument at the game; the crowd leaving the stadium scattered, and a car driven by Assiyah Easley stopped abruptly in front of three Sharon Hill officers monitoring the crowd.
• The officers, believing the car's occupants had fired at them, fired a combined 25 shots at the vehicle; one stray round flew beyond the car and struck Fanta, killing her, and wounded three other people including her 12-year-old sister.
• Strand and Ford were initially charged with first-degree murder in Fanta's death under a transferred-intent legal theory, despite the district attorney's own office acknowledging evidence showed police gunfire had killed her; the charges drew significant public backlash and were withdrawn after a grand jury investigation into the officers concluded, with Strand later pleading guilty only to aggravated assault and gun offenses related to the original gunfight.
• A Delaware County grand jury recommended manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges against Devaney, Dolan, and Smith in January 2022; the three were fired by the Sharon Hill Borough Council days later.
• Neither Dolan nor Smith activated their body cameras during the incident, and Devaney was not wearing one; investigators said the fatal bullet was too damaged to trace to a specific officer's weapon.
• In November 2022, all three officers pleaded guilty to 10 counts each of reckless endangerment, avoiding the more serious manslaughter charges entirely; in May 2023, a judge sentenced each to five years of probation, with the first 11 months served on house arrest rather than prison.
• Fanta's family filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the three officers and the Sharon Hill Police Department alleging inadequate training and excessive force.

• Which specific officer's bullet killed Fanta was never determined, according to investigators, meaning individual responsibility among the three was never established even within the plea agreement all three accepted.
• Why two teenagers were initially charged with first-degree murder in a death the prosecutor's own office already knew was caused by police gunfire has not been fully explained beyond the transferred-intent legal theory cited at the time.
• The specific reasoning behind the plea agreement that allowed all three officers to avoid manslaughter charges and any prison time has not been made fully public beyond the prosecutor's general statements.

• The Philadelphia Inquirer — “Three former Sharon Hill police officers sentenced to probation in the shooting death of 8-year-old Fanta Bility”
• WHYY — “Former Sharon Hill officers get house arrest for Fanta Bility's shooting death”
• The Philadelphia Inquirer — “The Sharon Hill Police officers who killed Fanta Bility have been charged in her death”
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs