Jeremy Mardis, was shot five times in his head and his torso by officers on Tuesday around 9:30 PM. His father, Chris Few, was also shot and is in critical condition.
At a news conference on Thursday, Louisiana State Police Col. Mike Edmonson admitted that no gun was found in the vehicle, despite previous reports implying that there had been an exchange of gunfire.
Investigators also initially stated that the father was being pursued over warrants, however, Edmonson has admitted that they have not found any open warrants.
Dr. L.J. Mayeux, coroner of Avoyelles Parish, had also originally claimed that Few had repeatedly backed into the marshal’s vehicle after attempting to flee, however, that has also turned out to not be the case. Edmonson stated on Thursday that there is no evidence this happened.
The shooting was captured on at least one officer’s body camera.
Four officers were involved in the shooting that took the little boy’s life, but strangely, three of them were moonlighting as Ward 2 City Marshals, something that the Marksville Police Chief did not know that they even did until a few months ago. The fourth officer had been called in from the Marksville Police Department as backup.
"If we could have done anything to prevent it we would have but like I said, it wasn't our deputies. It wasn't our deputies who were on duty at the time for Marksville. You will need to talk to the Ward 2 Marshal," Mayor Lemoine told KSLA.
Lemoine sent a concerned letter to the Louisiana Attorney General's Office in September with concerns over their marshals acting outside of their jurisdiction, which is what appears to have been the case in this shooting.
“We have reason to believe that the Ward 2 Marshal is issuing tickets inside the city limits without consent or approval of the Marksville City Council,” the letter stated.
According to Edmonson, officers involved in any shooting are given a "day or two to rest and get sleep,” before being interviewed about what happened, KSLA reported. Two of the officers had still not been interviewed on Thursday.
"He was diagnosed with autism when he was 2. He loved everyone he met and they loved him," Samantha Few, Mardis’ grandmother told WAFB in a statement. "As far as what caused his death, the only thing I have been told is he died from gunshot wounds. He didn't deserve what happened. He wouldn't hurt a fly."
The grieving grandmother, who the child and his father lived with, also called the first-grader "a special gift from God.”
