Markee Jones, 12, is shot dead at his grandmother’s house in Minnesota because a loaded gun was left out among children
A 12-year-old boy was fatally shot at his grandmother’s house during a birthday party for his cousin – after playing with an unattended firearm brought by an unnamed guest, police said.
The child, identified as Markee Jones, played with the loaded gun with an older sibling and cousin in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Saturday before it suddenly went off, leaving the preteen fatally injured.
An unnamed 14-year-old man is currently in custody awaiting manslaughter charges, police said.
The 14 youths who attended were scheduled to go karting, witnesses said, but are now grieving over Markee’s death.
Relatives demanding justice insist the incident was an accident. Relatives also said someone they know is responsible for leaving the gun in their home – and that it happened without their knowledge.
They are now demanding that person come forward, seemingly knowing who they are. Cop said they are now interviewing others who witnessed the incident.
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The child, identified as Markee Jones, had been playing with a loaded gun with an older sibling and cousin in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Saturday before it suddenly went off, leaving the preteen fatally injured
“Why would he bring a gun into my sister’s house?” a family member asked Saturday, as a procession of people continued outside the Stinson Street home where the incident took place
“Why would he bring a gun into my sister’s house?” an unnamed family member asked ABC affiliate KSTP-TV on Saturday, as a procession of people remained outside the home on Stinson Street hours after the shooting.
“That’s not right,” the elderly woman added, revealing that the home belonged to her sister, the victim’s grandmother, who she said was not home when the gun was left unattended.
The child’s mother, Denisha Hill, was, however, asleep because of the early hour, relatives said.
Hill, Markee’s mother, told The Star Tribute that the kids — including her son, his brother and a cousin — had stayed overnight with her mother with plans to go go-karting.
“My mother always has her grandchildren over,” she told the newspaper, as a procession of relatives gathered in the alley behind the house.
Another family member, speaking anonymously, told KSTP-TV how in recent weeks there had been a heated discussion among members of the extended family about safety around guns – especially around the family’s many children.
The uncle of the deceased, Martez Hill, further revealed that Saturday had been his son’s birthday and several boys had been playing with the firearm unbeknownst to adults before it went off.
“My nephews and his brothers and his cousins were playing with a gun,” said a tearful Hill, apparently also aware of the gun owner’s identity.
“This should never have happened,” he added. “This wasn’t the day before. This should never have happened to my cousin.’
Denisha Hill, Markee’s mother, told The Star Tribute that the kids – including her son, his brother and a cousin – had stayed overnight with her mother with plans to go go-karting
The deceased’s uncle, Martez Hill, further revealed that Saturday had been his son’s birthday and several boys had been playing with the firearm without the knowledge of adults in the residence before it finally went off.
Another family member, speaking anonymously, told KSTP-TV how in recent weeks there had been a heated discussion among members of the extended family about safety around guns – especially around the family’s many children.
Nasiy Nasir X, national president of the Lion of Judah Armed Forces and leader of the New Black Panther Nation Minnesota, assists the family and also asks the owner of the gun to turn himself in
Detectives are now investigating the incident, which, while accidental, is being treated as a homicide. Statistics show that it is the 22nd in the city so far this year.
That said, police have since made an arrest and taken into custody an unnamed 14-year-old.
The teen, whose relationship to the victim has not yet been revealed, is currently being held at the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center, St. Paul Police Department officers confirmed.
Some 11 hours earlier, just before 5 a.m., officers were first called to the home after receiving a report of a young man being shot.
They arrived to find the deceased victim badly injured with the as-yet-unspecified injury that would later claim his life. The Ramsey County Medical Investigation Bureau said on Sunday it would not reveal the cause of death until a later date.
No further information was available on Sunday, though family members are still trying to come to terms with the loss of one of their youngest.
A visibly frustrated Hill told KSTP, “I love my nephews, I love them like they’re my son.
Speaking to The Tribune on Saturday, the boy’s mother remembered Markee as “smart and always smiling.” Police said they were now questioning the more than a dozen children who were in the home at the time
“We are shocked, we are devastated, we are beyond angry. We also want justice.’
Lakrisha Hill, Markee’s aunt, added that she hopes the incident “gets a lot of attention for people who own firearms.”
“To make sure you keep your gun safely under lock and key and kids are curious,” she added. “Now I have to bury a cousin because of someone else’s mistake.”
The boy’s mother, who lives in Inver Grove Heights, said her mother, who owns the home, was away to a religious retreat when the incident happened.
She said Hill was the one staying at the house, but he was asleep when the shooting happened early in the morning.
Speaking to The Tribune on Saturday, she remembered Markee as “smart and always smiling.”
“He was a happy, basketball-playing kid who loved being outside with his friends. He was a real boy boy,” she said.
Nasiy Nasir X, national president of the Lion of Judah Armed Forces and leader of the New Black Panther Nation Minnesota, assists the family and demands that the owner of the firearm turn himself in.
“(The) firearm does not belong to our beloved child, Markee,” he said Saturday, joining several friends and relatives of the victims in the garden outside Markee’s grandmother’s house.
“It belongs to someone else, so this is negligence on their part. Who knows something, step forward and say something.
They won’t get their child back. He’s not coming back. … If you know it’s your firearm you left here, make sure you turn yourself in.
“You can turn yourself in to the New Black Panther Nation or you can turn yourself in to the police station, but turning yourself in is the right thing to do so that this family can get justice and this family can rest and have peace.”