The Fatal Shooting of a 15-Year-Old by Police in Mississippi Is Under State Investigation

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations has launched a probe regarding a police officer shooting and killing a teenager earlier this month in the city of Gulfport, police said, as attorneys for the teen’s family call for video footage of the incident to be released.

Law enforcement officers responded to a 911 call on October 6 of multiple people in a vehicle brandishing firearms, Gulfport Police Chief Adam Cooper said at a news briefing this week. When police arrived and made contact with the vehicle, members of the group left the vehicle and attempted to flee, he said.

An officer then fired at an armed suspect – identified by police as Jaheim McMillan – who pointed a weapon in their direction, Cooper said.

McMillan, 15, was struck in the head and later died after being taken off life support, according to a news release from civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is retained by McMillan’s family.

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“This child had his whole life ahead of him, but bullets from those officers took all possibility of that away in an instant,” Crump said. {snip}

Police say McMillan did not comply with the officer’s verbal commands to stop running and drop his weapon. {snip}

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