Police ID killed child; gun owner, teen charged
A child was shot and killed Friday afternoon inside a Memphis residence, according to police.
Police identified the 9-year-old as Xavier Jackson in a third update to the case made Saturday afternoon.
A 13-year-old and an adult gun owner have both been charged with negligent homicide, according to a Saturday morning update from the Memphis Police Department.
Jackson was shot at 650 Gallan Drive, according to MPD, and officers were on the scene around 5:31 p.m.
Court documents show that the 13year-old used the weapon in the shooting.
Documents show the adult gun owner, 26-year-old Lindsey Williams, arrived after officers had secured the crime scene. Williams refused officer requests to stay outside of the crime scene and tried to make his way into the apartment, documents show.
There was a “brief physical altercation” before Williams was taken into custody “with the necessary force to make the arrest,” documents show.
Williams told officers he owned the handgun recovered at the scene, documents show. He regularly kept the loaded gun on a window sill, Williams told officers, and said that the 13-year-old responsible for the shooting knew where the weapon was kept.
In addition to negligent homicide, Williams is facing charges for disorderly conduct, resisting official detention and reckless endangermentdeadly weapon.
Williams is scheduled for an arraignment Monday morning at 9 a.m.
On Friday night, several people gathered near the scene.
A man who identified himself to The Commercial Appeal as Jackson’s uncle said he was told the shooting was accidental.
“That’s all I really know,” he said. “My nephew was on the short end of the stick, that’s all I really know.”
In Memphis, and across the state of Tennessee, children are die as a result of gunshot wounds at a higher rate than the rest of the country.
Weapons-related fatalities in minors, according to research compiled by Lebonheur’s Children Hospital and The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, show that weaponsrelated deaths in Tennessee are more than double the national average.
In January of this year, the city called for a moment of silence in honor of three children who were killed in drive-by shootings over the span of 48 hours earlier in the month.
Commercial Appeal reporters Micaela A. Watts contributed.
Laura Testino covers education and children’s issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@ commercialappeal.com or 901-5123763. Find her on Twitter: @Ldtestino