PolitifactNC

Fact check: No, George Floyd's brother wasn't arrested in North Carolina

A post spreading on social media claims that one of George Floyd's siblings was recently charged with murder. "George Floyd's younger brother, Dejywan Floyd, has been arrested in North Carolina for a 'road rage' shooting of a white couple, killing the mother of six sitting in the passenger," reads the text above two images: one of a Black man and one of what looks like a white woman.

Posted — Updated

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video.


By
Ciara O'Rourke
, PolitiFact reporter
On April 12, George Floyd’s younger brother testified in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Philonise Floyd said his big brother took care of him and his siblings and "was so much of a leader in the household." A post spreading on social media claims that one of his siblings was recently charged with murder.

"George Floyd’s younger brother, Dejywan Floyd, has been arrested in North Carolina for a ‘road rage’ shooting of a white couple, killing the mother of six sitting in the passenger," reads the text above two images: one of a Black man and one of what looks like a white woman.

A North Carolina man named Dejywan Floyd was recently charged with murder in the death of a woman who was killed after being shot while riding in the car her husband was driving. But we found nothing to support a claim spreading on social media that this person was a sibling of George Floyd.

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Searching for Dejywan Floyd’s name and George Floyd’s name didn’t turn up any credible news reports or documents connecting the two men.

We reached out to civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is representing Floyd’s family, but did not immediately receive a response.

Jacari Harris, executive director of the George Floyd Memorial Foundation, told WRAL the man is not George Floyd's brother.

"The family does not know him," he said in a text.

George Floyd’s obituary also didn’t mention Dejywan Floyd. Rather, it said he was survived by three sisters (Zsa-Zsa Floyd, LaTonya Floyd and Bridgett Floyd), two stepsisters (Camisha Carter and Constance Carter), three brothers (Terrance Floyd, Philonise Floyd and Rodney Floyd), and two stepbrothers (Deldrick Carter and Adrian Carter).

The Robeson County sheriff’s office, which is investigating the shooting in North Carolina, has "no information at all to confirm this is true," Sheriff Burnis Wilkins told PolitiFact.

"The last name Floyd is very common in our county and surrounding area," Wilkins said.

We rate this Facebook post False.