LeBron James Criticized For Ma'Khia Bryant Tweet

COLUMBUS, OH — The National Fraternal Order of Police lambasted LeBron James for a now-deleted Tweet sent in the wake of the Ma'Khia Bryant shooting in Columbus.

James Tweeted an image of the officer involved in Bryant's shooting with the caption, "You're next. #Accountability" before wiping that message from his feed. The National Fraternal Order of Police saw the image prior to its deletion.

"LeBron James with his vast resources and influence, should educate himself and, frankly, has a responsibility to do so, on the facts before weighing in. This is disgraceful & extremely reckless," the organization said on social media Thursday.

Read more: Ma'Khia Bryant: Protests, Questions In Wake Of Shooting

James explained his decision to send the Tweet, and then delete it, in subsequent messages to social media.

"I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isn’t about one officer. it’s about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY," he wrote on Twitter.

Bryant, 16, was shot and killed by a Columbus police officer on Tuesday afternoon. When police arrived, based on the body-camera footage, a scrum of people were in the driveway. Bryant then charges into frame waving a knife at another person. Bryant's target falls backwards, and then police shout for Bryant to get down.

Bryant then rushes toward another person, who is near a car, and an officer fires four shots at the 16-year-old. Bryant collapses. A blade can be seen next to her in the video footage.

"The fact that I see what I saw on that video is not how I know my Ma'Khia," Wilcox told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I don't know what happened there unless she was fearful for her life."

Protests erupted in Columbus immediately following the shooting. Vigils have been held throughout the city in honor of Bryant. As the investigation into Columbus police's actions continue, politicians like Gov. Mike DeWine have asked for patience as law enforcement investigates what happened.