Family speaks out after MSCS employee found shot, killed

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A Memphis-Shelby County School District (MSCS) employee who failed to show up for work Tuesday has been shot and killed, police say.

Lovanda Henderson, mother of 27-year-old Larry Thorn, is mourning the unexpected death of her oldest son.

She said Thorn disappeared Monday night around 11 and did not show up for work Tuesday morning.

“Which is very unlike him not to show up for work, so immediately, when we found out he had been missing, we went ahead and called the police,” Henderson said.

In the early morning of that same day, Memphis police said officers responded to a man-down call just before 7 a.m. on Gold Avenue.

That’s where investigators found Thorn shot to death.

A GoFundMe has been launched to help fund funeral arrangements.

Loved ones say the news has been difficult to cope with.

“To hear that he’s gone, I still haven’t processed in my head. It seems unreal to me,” said Kevon Henderson, Thorn’s brother.

“Our entire class of 2013 of Mitchell High School is mourning and grieving alongside his family,” said Justin J. Pearson, Thorn’s friend.

While Thorn worked as a secretary, he devoted his time to Maceo Walker Middle School’s students as if they were his own.

MSCS released a statement of his passing:

The Memphis Police Department has not made an arrest in this case.

If you have any information that could lead to an arrest, contact CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.

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