Investigation launched after 11-year-old who called 911 for help is shot by officer in Mississippi

Calls are growing for an officer to be fired and charged after an 11-year-old Mississippi boy was shot by police after calling 911 for help.

Aderrien Murry was seriously wounded early Saturday by an Indianola police officer responding to a domestic call at the home of the 11-year-old’s mother, said Carlos Moore, an attorney for the boy’s family.

“This should not have happened,” Moore said. “The main question [Aderrien] has been asking is why did this happen to me? The child suffered a collapsed lung, lacerated liver and fractured ribs. … He’s blessed to have survived but he’s still in pain emotionally and mentally.”

On Thursday, a group of protesters called for accountability in the shooting of the unarmed boy during a rally at Indianola City Hall.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said it is investigating the shooting that happened 6 a.m. Saturday at a home on BB King Road.

“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 state investigative agency did not provide additional details. The Indianola Police Department referred questions about the incident to the city attorney, who did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

The officer who fired was not identified by the state agency or the Indianola department.

Indianola Alderman Marvin Elder said that officer Greg Capers had been placed on paid administrative leave after a unanimous Indianola council vote.

Capers could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The attorney for the boy’s family said he was working to obtain body-camera video of the shooting.

Moore said the boy was shot after calling for help for his mother. During a confrontation with the father of one of her children, Nakala Murry handed her phone to the boy and told him to call police and his grandmother, the family’s attorney said.

When police arrived, they were told the man was unarmed and had run out a back door and that three children were home, Moore said.

Police ordered everyone in the house to show themselves with their hands up, Moore said. When the 11-year-old came out of a bedroom with his hands up, he was met by gunfire, the attorney said.

“He shot him immediately when his hands were up, and he’s coming around the corner,” Moore said.

Moore said that the officer should be fired and charged with aggravated assault.

“I didn’t ask for a suspension with pay. I asked and demanded termination. Did I stutter?” he 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.”

He said he expects the family to file a federal civil rights lawsuit.

“We need to hold our law enforcement officers to a higher standard and ensure that they are trained to de-escalate situations and use non-lethal methods whenever possible,” Moore said in a statement Thursday.

Madelyn Urabe contributed.