A Mississippi police officer responding to a shooting over the weekend discovered that the victim was her son.
Authorities were called to the scene on Larkin Street — just blocks from the Hazlehurst Police Department — early Sunday, Jan. 2.
“We initially responded to the call not knowing, when I made it over there, the person was going to be my son that was laying there,” Officer Laquandia Cooley told NBC affiliate WLBT of Jackson.
The man, Charles Stewart Jr., 20, was dead in the middle of the street with a gunshot wound to the head.
“As we get out, I look and I was like, ‘This is my son, this is my son,'” Cooley said. “So I literally just go into a breakdown, you know? Like, why? Who would do this to my son?”
As of Tuesday, Jan 4, it was not clear what led to the shooting or whether an arrest had been made.
“I couldn’t even believe what I was seeing. I was seeing my own son laying there on the ground dead. It was pretty much a panic. It was just, it was too much,” Cooley said.
Charles Stewart, the victim’s father, described his son as a good person who got along with everyone.
“It’s traumatizing for the whole family. We’re just trying to cope day to day,” he said. “Just trying to figure out why this happened and who could have did this.”
Police Chief Darian Murray confirmed the incident to NBC News. He told WLBT that the case will be handled by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation because it involves an officer’s family member.
