Nearly three years after the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, his story will be developed into a film to highlight his life and legacy. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
According to Vibe, Samaria Rice, the mother of the slain pre-teen, is working behind the scenes, alongside Blue Angel Entertainment and Nonara Productions to create “12: The Tamir Rice Story.” ⠀⠀⠀
The film will be written and directed by Blue Angel CEO, Korstiaan Vandiver, with Samaria lending a helping hand on the script. The two will also have exclusive rights to the story. ⠀⠀
“We are just honored to have the opportunity to bring this story to life and we are all very excited to start this journey together,” Vandiver said of the film. “Tamir’s narrative is so timely and yet so long overdue.” In turn, Samaria thanked the scriptwriters for their encouragement and support in telling the story of Tamir Rice and building his legacy.
Back in 2014, the 12-year-old was gunned down by a Cleveland police officer at a local park, after the officers were misinformed about a toy gun that was on Rice’s person. A witness in the area called the police to report a young boy in the park with a gun, although the witness believed the gun was a fake, dispatch allegedly failed to relay the message to the responding officers.
Within seconds of the officer’s arrival, Rice was shot to death.
Rice’s death gained widespread recognition, as many added his name to the list of young, unarmed black men, who had been gunned down by police officers. The incident came just three months after the death of Michael Brown, which sparked a monumental movement in a fight against police brutality and racial injustices.
A release date for the film has yet to be revealed.