News Station Receives Backlash For Using Picture Of Nia Wilson Appearing To Hold A Gun

An Oakland news station has issued an apology after being criticized for using a photo of teen Nia Wilson that appears to show her holding a gun.

READ: Police Arrest Man Who Fatally Stabbed Oakland Teen Nia Wilson

Following the death of the 18-year-old, KTVU Fox 2 News wrote a report about the killing and used the picture of Wilson seen below.

Numerous people took to the station's Facebook page to criticize their use of the picture while others noticed that the teen wasn't holding a gun at all but a phone case that looked like a gun.

"Why am I not surprised that you guys are trying to paint her in the negative light. She was the victim she's done nothing wrong never had an arrest record or nothing but yet that was the picture you guys picked to post on your page smh FUCK YALL...," one user wrote.

"How does one make that mistake when conscious of the details? This choice is made way too often to demoralize the victim and diminish their importance as a human being when they are persons of color. My hope for the person that made the decision to choose that picture out of all the pictures they could have chosen, is that they will not make the choice in the future to subliminally distort the perception of victims of color. We have got to do better as a country," another user said.

Following the backlash, the station issued the following apology:

"Today as we covered the tragic death of Nia Wilson, several pictures of Nia were used during our noon newscast. One of those pictures was insensitive and we apologize. As soon as we realized the mistake, we took action so it would not air again. At no time was the picture posted on our digital or social media accounts. We'd like to apologize to Nia's family and our community."

In related news, Nia Wilson's older sister, Lahtifa Wilson, spoke on the man who attacked them. The siblings were transferring trains at the MacArthur BART station in Oakland, California late Sunday, when John Cowell attacked them.

"All of a sudden, we transfer, just to get blindsided by a maniac," Lahtifa said. "She just yelled my name, 'Tifa, Tifa, Tifa,' and I said, 'I got you baby, I got you.'"