Aderrien Murry, an 11-year-old boy from Mississippi, has broken his silence after being shot by a police officer inside his own home last week while seeking help through a 911 call. In an interview with Good Morning America on Tuesday, Aderrien described the gunshot as feeling “like a big punch to the chest” and expressed his belief that he was going to die.
The officer responsible for the shooting, identified as Greg Capers by the Indianola Police Department, has been placed on administrative leave by the Indianola Board of Aldermen pending an investigation, according to attorney Carlos Moore, who represents Aderrien’s family to CNN.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is currently looking into the incident, and during a press conference, the family demanded the officer’s termination and criminal charges, as well as the release of body camera footage.
The shooting occurred at Aderrien’s home last Saturday morning after he called 911 at the request of his mother, Nakala. She explained that she asked him to make the call when the father of her other child arrived at the house in an agitated state, causing her concern for their safety.
Nakala recounted that when the police arrived, the officer approached the front door with his gun drawn and instructed those inside to come outside. As her son emerged from the hallway into the living room, he was shot.
During the interview with GMA, Aderrien demonstrated how he came out of the room with his hands raised above his head to show the officer that he posed no threat. However, the officer still pulled the trigger, leaving Aderrien with a feeling akin to being hit by a Taser and causing him to run to his mother outside while bleeding from his mouth.
Nakala expressed her confusion, stating that the same officer who had ordered her son to come out of the house ended up shooting him. Aderrien, bewildered by the incident, repeatedly asked why he was shot and what he had done wrong.
Aderrien was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where he received treatment for a collapsed lung, fractured ribs, and a lacerated liver. He required a ventilator and a chest tube. Last Wednesday, he was discharged from the hospital and is now recovering at home, as shown in an image shared during the GMA interview, depicting him with a large bandage on his chest.
Prior to the shooting, Aderrien had aspirations of becoming a police officer. However, in light of the incident, he now aspires to become a doctor.
