Erica Garner, the 27-year-old daughter of Eric Garner, spent Christmas Day fighting for her life after what family members say was an asthma-induced heart attack. The anti-police brutality activist is one of the six children of Garner, who died in 2014 after being placed in a banned chokehold by New York City police officers trying to arrest him for selling untaxed cigarettes, CNN reports. Relatives say Erica Garner—who gave birth to her second child in August and named the boy after her father—had the heart attack Saturday night and was placed in a medically induced coma.
Erica is Garner's oldest daughter and was a leading voice in protests after his death. Her mother, Esaw Snipes-Garner, tells the New York Daily News that her daughter's condition is grave but she is still fighting. "The Garner/Snipes family wants to thank you all for your prayers and support," the family said in a statement on Twitter Monday. "At this moment there are no updates on Erica's condition. They ask that you take this holiday to enjoy your loved ones and for self care." (More Eric Garner stories.)