Erica Garner on Life Support After Suffering Heart Attack

Erica Garner, the daughter of Eric Garner, who was killed in July 2014 when NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo restrained him with an illegal chokehold, is in a coma after suffering a heart attack on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24).

Esaw Snipes-Garner, Erica’s mother, told the New York Daily News that her daughter’s cardiac arrest was brought on by an asthma attack Saturday night (Dec. 23). The 27-year-old mother of two is currently listed in critical condition at a hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“(She) is still with us. She’s fighting,” said Snipes-Garner.

Erica, who is also a mother of an 8-year-old daughter, gave birth to a boy in August, added Snipes-Garner. That's when doctors discovered that Erica had an enlarged heart. After the birth, Erica suffered her first cardiac arrest.

Erica's foster mother, Tanya Goode, left the Brooklyn hospital distraught. She expressed concerns about Erica's health.

“I was here last night and I’ve been here all day today," Goode told NYDN. "Erica is on life support. She can’t breathe on her own. So, she’s not doing well."

Prior to her current medical crisis, Erica was a tireless activist against police brutality and state-sanctioned violence following the death of her father in July 2014. A few months later, Erica staged a “die-in” on the same Staten Island N.Y. corner where Eric Garner was placed in an illegal chokehold and died.

Erica Garner, a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, has also been very critical of the Democratic Party, the war on drugs and systemic oppression in urban communities as well.

Upon hearing the sad news of Erica Garner, friends and supporters went on Twitter to send their prayers out to her and the family.

You can read some of them below.