‘I feel like he was targeted’: Mother mourns over loss of her son in latest Capitol Police-involved shooting
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Capitol Police have been involved in yet another shooting this year.
On Sunday night, a life was lost in a Capitol Police-involved shooting near East Mayes Street in Jackson, making it the third Capitol Police-involved shooting in the past six weeks.
Thursday, Arkela Lewis, the mother of 25-year-old Jaylen Lewis who lost his life spoke of the incident at New Jerusalem Church, calling for answers.
“I feel like he was targeted. I do. I really do,” she said. “This has to stop. You ended my baby’s life. You made the decision to end my baby’s life at 25 years of age.”
Lewis says she still hasn’t heard anything from the agency about what led to this tragic incident… Now, all she has left of her son are the memories made and the last time she saw him.
“He was out riding, I don’t know why he left but I thought it was ok for anybody to go out driving whenever they wanted to. That’s all I know about is him out driving.”
Dewayne Pickett, the Pastor of New Jerusalem Baptist Church, says he spoke with a lady who was in the car with Lewis during the incident. He says they both had no indication that the vehicle following them was a cop cruiser.
“They didn’t know who it was because there were no blue lights, no identification. So, he actually called one of his friends because he didn’t know if someone was out to get him, or who it was,” he said.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is conducting an “internal investigation” after the man in Sunday’s Capitol Police-involved shooting died.
According to MBI, the officers involved in the incident will be on administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
“An internal investigation into this incident is underway and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is conducting its own independent inquiry and will present its findings to the Attorney General’s office,” stated Commissioner Sean Tindell. “Such incidents require a thorough investigation, scrutiny, and transparency. Therefore, any releasable information regarding this incident will be made public by the Department of Public Safety at the appropriate time.”
According to DPS spokesperson Bailey Martin, this is the first death resulting from a Capitol Police-involved shooting.
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