NEW ORLEANS — Three days after a six-year-old autistic boy was killed and his father wounded after marshals opened fire on their vehicle in a Louisiana town, authorities have arrested two of the four officers involved in the shooting, the head of the state police announced Friday.
Col. Mike Edmonson, in a late-night press conference, gave few details of what exactly unfolded Tuesday night that led authorities to arrest the officers. But he made his disgust clear.
Speaking of the body camera footage that was recovered from the officers, he said: “It is the most disturbing thing I’ve seen, and I will leave it at that.”
Six-year-old Jeremy Mardis was shot and killed and his father, Chris Few, was wounded when officers opened fire on their vehicle on Tuesday night in the central Louisiana town of Marksville.
Edmonson said Friday that the two officers are being booked on charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in the shooting. Edmonson identified the two officers as Norris Greenhouse Jr. and Derrick Stafford. Both were working secondary jobs in Marksville as marshals when the shooting happened, Edmonson said.
State police have been investigating the Tuesday night shooting that raised questions almost from the start. Edmonson said earlier that no weapon was found in the vehicle.
State police are combing through forensics evidence, 911 calls, conducting interviews and reviewing the body camera footage, Edmonson said, as the investigation continues.
Two other officers were involved in the incident. When Edmonson was asked whether he anticipated any more arrests, he said: “We’ll see where it takes us.”
It’s still unclear what led police to pursue Few and what triggered the shooting. The parish coroner said earlier this week that the officers were serving a warrant on Few when he fled, but Edmonson later said he had no information about a warrant.
Few’s 57-year-old stepfather, Morris German, has accused the marshals of indiscriminately opening fire on the vehicle. German said Few was heavily sedated, unable to talk and has bullet fragments lodged in his brain and lung. He described Few as a loving father and added the man’s son “was his whole life.”
German added that the 6-year-old had been diagnosed with autism, describing him as a delightful child who “loved everything, everybody.” German said the boy had no siblings and the family had recently moved to Marksville from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
“I know a 6-year-old should not have been shot,” German said.
