Family Seek Answers Into Fatal Police Shooting of Miss. Teen Jaheim McMillan

Family and friends are seeking answers into the shooting of 15-year-old Jaheim McMillan, who was shot and killed by police in Mississippi.

What happened to Jaheim McMillan?

Jaheim McMillan was fatally shot by police on Oct. 6 in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store in Gulfport, Miss. around 2:30 p.m. Authorities claimed the teen was armed, however, protestors say newly obtained video footage and witness testimony refute those claims.

Video footage of the incident

Protesters say the newly acquired surveillance footage shows that the Gulfport police officer who shot McMillan acted without cause.

“It clearly shows [McMillan] took three-and-a-half steps from that [Kia Soul], three-and-a-half steps to a death sentence,” said Jacob Blake Sr., whose son, Jacob Blake, was shot by a Kenosha, Wis., police officer in 2020.

They are also demanding the police department to release the officer’s bodycam footage publicly.

On Tuesday, Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump tweeted a clip of an interview he did with journalist Roland Martin and McMillan’s mother, Katrina Mateen. He captioned the post, “Gulfport (MS) police fatally shot Jaheim McMillan — a 15-year-old child who had his WHOLE life ahead of him. State officials MUST release all video footage of the incident — we need to see with our OWN eyes what transpired the night police killed Jaheim!”

Eyewitnesses of Jaheim McMillan’s shooting

One person posted a video clip of “the last moments of Jaheim McMillan’s life.” They claimed it “was [an] execution [and] he was terrified running [away] from [an] officer that immediately started shooting.”

On the day of the shooting, a witness was videotaped saying she never saw the teen holding a weapon. She claimed McMillan’s hands were up as he approached the police officers.

Police’s account of the shooting

On Oct. 6, police received 911 calls that people in a Kia Soul were brandishing weapons and chasing another vehicle, according to authorities. When police officers tracked the car to the Family Dollar, two of the five occupants of the car jumped out and fled the scene.

McMillan allegedly got out, he was told to stop, but authorities said McMillan did not comply. He allegedly turned around with a weapon, and a police officer shot him.

The other two teenagers got out of the vehicle and were arrested at the scene with weapons. The ones who fled were caught, and police tracked down weapons discarded nearby.

Jaheim McMillan police shooting investigation

The officer who fatally shot McMillan has not been identified. The officers involved in the shooting are on non-enforcement duty, according to Gulfport authorities.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation. The Gulfport police is conducting an internal investigation.

Jaheim McMillan was laid to rest on Wednesday (Oct. 26).