An unarmed 11-year-old was shot by the very Mississippi police officer he called to help protect his mum, his family attorney has said.
Aderrien Murry was ‘shot in the chest’ Saturday morning by an Indianola Police Department officer responding to a domestic call at his mother’s home.
His mum, Nakala, asked him to dial 999 at about 4am after an ex-partner showed up outside their home.
The man was not Aderrien’s father. His sister and Nakala’s three-year-old nephew were also at the home on BB King Road.
He ‘called the police to come to his mother’s rescue, he called his grandmother to come to his mother’s rescue, the police came there and escalated the situation,’ lawyer Carlos Moore said.
The officer stormed into the home ‘gun blazing’, Moore told The Washington Post.
Nakala said no one was armed and, as Aderrien complied with the officer’s orders to come out with his hands up, the officer shot him in the chest.
‘He shot him immediately when his hands were up, and he’s coming around the corner,’ Moore said.
‘His words were, “Why did he shoot me? What did I do?” and he started crying,’ the boy’s mother said at a news conference on Monday.
Nakala covered her son’s wound and applied pressure as blood pooled beneath her palm before medics arrived.
Aderrien was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Centre for treatment.
He was placed on a ventilator and chest tube having suffered a collapsed lung, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver, Moore said.
Aderrien is now recovering at home and is expected to make a full recovery.
Indianola City Attorney Kimberly Merchant confirmed to The Enterprise-Tocsin that the officer who shot the little boy was Greg Capers.
Capers, she added, is no longer on active duty and has been suspended with pay.
‘The reason why we cannot comment, and I know that it’s frustrating for folks, but it is a personnel matter,’ she added.
The Indianola Police Department also confirmed that the officer was Caper but declined to comment further, according to CNN.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) said it is investigating the incident.
‘No officers were injured during the incident. A minor occupant of the residence received significant injuries and has been transported to a local hospital,’ the agency said.
‘MBI is currently assessing this critical incident and gathering evidence. Upon completing the investigation, agents will share their findings with the Attorney General’s Office.’
The District Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Circuit Court and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office have been contacted for comment.
Nakala and Moore have called on city and state officials to take further action.
A sit-in protest outside City Hall took place on Tuesday and another rally roared yesterday.
‘What are we here for?’ protestors shouted. ‘Justice!’
Campaigners are hoping to obtain body-cam footage of the episode and for the officer to be fired.
‘I didn’t ask for a suspension with pay. I asked and demanded termination. Did I stutter?’ Moore said at a City Hall news conference Thursday.
‘When I say termination, I mean termination. You don’t give someone a paid vacation who committed such a reckless act.’
