Adrienne Murry: 11-year-old who called 911 shot by police

JACKSON, Miss. – A Mississippi police officer who shot and wounded an 11-year-old black boy at a child’s home should be fired, a lawyer for the child’s mother said Thursday.

The child, Adrien Murry, was hospitalized for five days with a collapsed lung, lacerated liver and broken ribs after an Indianola Police Department officer shot him in the chest early Saturday, attorney Carlos Moore said. Aderian returned home to Indianola on Wednesday.

“We demand justice,” Moore said during the protest, which his law firm broadcast live.

“An 11-year-old black boy in the city of Indianola was killed by an inch,” Moore said at Indianola City Hall. “He did nothing wrong and everything is right.”

Adrien’s mother, Nakala Murry, said her son is “lucky” to be alive, but he doesn’t understand why the officer shot him.

“It was the worst moment of my life and I feel like nobody cares. This is my baby, y’all,” Nakala Mary said Thursday as she cried in the lobby of City Hall.

Moore said Nakala Muri asked her son to call the police around 4 a.m. Saturday when the father of one of her other children showed up at her home. Moore said the man was enraged and Nakala Muri felt threatened.

“He called the police to save his mother,” Moore said of Aderien. “He called his grandmother to come and help his mother. The police came and escalated the situation.”

Moore said two officers responded and one kicked the front door before Nakala Murry opened it. She told them the intruder came out of the house, but there were three children inside, Moore said.

Moore said Nakala Muri told him that Sgt. Greg Capers, who is Black, yelled into the house and told everyone inside to come out with their hands up. Moore said Aderien walked into the living room with nothing in hand and Capers shot him in the chest.

Indianola City Attorney Kimberly Merchant confirmed to The Enterprise-Tocsin in Indianola that Officer Capers was shot.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Moore said Indianola officials have suspended Capers with pay while the shooting is investigated.

The AP left phone messages Thursday for Merchant, Indianola Mayor Ken Featherstone and Police Chief Ronald Sampson. They did not immediately respond.

On Thursday, Nacala, Mary and Moore were joined by several others as they sat in the lobby of City Hall and sang “We Shall Overcome.”

Indianola has about 9,300 residents and is located in the rural Mississippi Delta, about 95 miles northwest of Jackson.

The Mississippi State Bureau of Investigation announced Saturday that it is investigating the shooting, as it does most shootings involving law enforcement officers in the state. The bureau reported that the recipient was a person younger than 18 years old “severe injuries” after being shot by an Indianola Police Department officer.

“MBI is currently evaluating this critical incident and gathering evidence,” Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Bailey Martin said Thursday in response to questions from the AP. “Once the investigation is complete, agents will share their findings with the Attorney General’s Office. Due to the fact that the investigation is open and ongoing, we will not make further comments.”