The mother of a 15-year-old boy shot and killed by a former police officer says her son was reportedly at the man’s home with his daughter.
The teen’s mother, Jacqueline Rash, identified the victim as Cornelius McGee. She said former police officer Andrew Bankhead shot and killed her son at Bankhead’s house in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on Monday, News Channel 3 reported.
“I heard shots, went to Walmart, came back, and just rode around that way, saw three ambulances out there, police everywhere, tape everywhere,” she said.
Officers with the Clarksdale Police Department responded to Bankhead’s home regarding an attempted burglary at the residence. Upon arrival, they discovered the teen’s body in a neighbor’s yard. He suffered a gunshot wound to the back and was later pronounced dead.
The Clarksdale police chief confirmed Bankhead was a former officer with the department.
Rash said she believed Bankhead killed her son because the man found out his daughter had a mutual relationship with McGee, Fox 13 reported.
She said the former officer warned the 15-year-old not to visit his daughter at their home. However, Rash said the young girl had let McGee into the residence through a bedroom window.
“And the daughter. They said he was there with the daughter, she let him in the house, so they said it was a burglary but it wasn’t a break-in. The daughter let him in the house,” Rash told News Channel 3.
The grieving mother said her son tried to run away, but the man reportedly shot him in the back while he climbed a neighbor’s fence.
Rash said her son never committed a crime and spoke highly of him following the heartbreaking tragedy.
“He was a good kid. He was real respectful,” Rash said. “A people person. Everybody loved him. Everybody loved him.”
Clarksdale police have partnered with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to investigate the shooting. However, authorities have yet to arrest anyone.
