CPD investigating shooting that claimed the life of a 16 year old
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) On Saturday, shortly after 3:00pm, the Columbus Police Department responded to a shooting in the 200 block of Constance Lane.
The victims were a 17-year-old, who was rushed to the hospital, and 16-year-old Marquez Carter who died on the scene.
“It is very alarming” said Joseph Daughtry, Columbus Police Chief. “When a 16-year-old gets shot and killed”
“My heart just goes out to the mother, as a father who has lost a child, it is just hard, said Daughtry “That is something as parents that we never in a million years anticipate, which is burying our child”
The case is still under investigation, and so far, no arrests have been made.
Chief Joseph Daughtry said one of the hardest things about trying to solve a crime, is lack of cooperation from the community.
“It is hard to be politically correct when you got 30-40 people who know what happened out there, but no one wants to say anything, said Daughtry. “I need to get this message to these young people, all of these folks who y’all are hanging with who supposed to be your friend, then when something happens to you, they don’t know nothing, and they do not want to say something”
Carter’s body is being sent to Pearl for an autopsy. Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant said even when the cause of death is known, autopsies still play a huge part in solving a crime.
“To get that evidence that is about the body, and the trajectory of these injuries, it tells us the direction that it came from, it can be friend or foe, said Merchant. “We can also tell the direction of the gunshot wound, we can tell if it is near, or if it is distant. There is a lot of valuable information that can be gained, from doing an autopsy”
Daughtry said he believes that one of the reasons for the rise in violence among the younger generation, is they aren’t thinking logically when emotions run high.
“They do not know how to have a conversation and say “hey you hurt my feelings” or “hey you said this about me on tik tok and it was not right” they do not know how to do that. What happen is they ended up going into a physical altercation, said Daughtry. “The days of fighting and being back friends by lunch time are over.”
Daughtry also said now the only thing he and his department want to see, is the wheels of justice turn in the favor of Marquez Carter’s family
“My goal is to put whoever is responsible, said Daughtry. “I want to have them in jail, and they will see our District Attorney.
Authorities are urging anyone who has any information about the shooting, or any other crimes here in the city of Columbus, to call the Columbus Police Department, or Golden Triangle Crimestoppers, and remember you can report that information anonymously.
