Erica Garner hospitalized with brain damage after heart attack, Twitter account says

Erica Garner, the oldest daughter of Eric Garner, suffered "major" brain damage from a lack of oxygen during a heart attack over the weekend and remained in a medically-induced coma on Thursday, according to multiple reports and her Twitter account.

Garner, 27, was hospitalized on Saturday night for a heart attack brought on by an asthma episode, the New York Times reported on Monday. Her Twitter account, however, has remained active, with someone speaking on her behalf. 

"Cat scan shows Erica suffered major brain damage from a lack of oxygen while in cardiac arrest," the person who is operating her Twitter account said. "Please continue to pray hard for Erica and pray for her family and kids just as much."

Garner’s mother, Esaw Snipes, told the New York Daily News her daughter was still on life support Thursday afternoon, adding, "She’s not gone, she’s brain dead." 

Garner became an activist in the aftermath of her father's death in 2014, calling for police accountability and demanding justice for individuals killed during interactions with officers. In 2016, she supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in his bid for president by introducing him at a rally in South Carolina and appearing in a pro-Sanders ad with her 6-year-old daughter.

Snipes told the Times on Monday her daughter had given birth four months ago and had learned about her heart problems during the pregnancy.

Snipes, the widow of Eric Garner, would not give the Times the name of the hospital where her daughter was being treated, but multiple sources and her twitter account reported she was in the intensive care unit of Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn.

“Right now, the family is just praying and asking for everyone to keep her in their prayers,” Snipes told the Times.

A similar plea came from civil-rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has spoken against police brutality alongside members of the Garner family at multiple political events and who tweeted a photo of himself “leaving hospital after praying for Erica Snipes” on Monday morning.

The Garner family thanked the public for its support so far from Garner’s Twitter account Wednesday: "We appreciate your individual and collective prayers. You can hold off on monetary donations at the moment."

Eric Garner was killed in July 2014 while he was being arrested by plainclothes NYPD officers for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. A video captured his dying words of “I can’t breathe,” which have since become a rallying cry for protesters. In September, the Civilian Complaint Review Board recommended discipline against Officer Daniel Pantaleo for using a tactic prohibited by the police department, a chokehold, on Garner.