An 11-year-old boy has admitted to police he fatally shot the previous interim mayor of a small Louisiana city and his grownup daughter, authorities mentioned.
The kid was arrested Sunday afternoon after admitting to killing Joe Cornelius Sr., 82, and Keisha Miles, 31, in Minden, La., earlier that day, Police Chief Jared McIver mentioned throughout a information convention Tuesday.
Cornelius was a former longtime Minden metropolis councilman and former interim mayor of Minden, the present mayor mentioned.
“Joe Cornelius’s years of service to Minden had been marked by his dedication and dedication to the betterment of our neighborhood,” Mayor Nick Cox mentioned in an announcement. “On a private notice, I’m grateful for his friendship and the numerous methods he supported me and others in our metropolis.”
The boy, who was solely described as a relative of the victims, has been charged with two counts of first-degree homicide and is being held on a US$500,000 bond, McIver mentioned. It’s unclear if the kid might be tried as an grownup.
Police discovered the victims in a house with a number of gunshot wounds after a member of the family referred to as 911, McIver mentioned. Authorities discovered two weapons hidden on the property and their calibers matched empty shell casings left on the scene, the chief mentioned with out elaborating. It’s unknown how the kid received a maintain of the weapons, McIver added.
The boy instructed responding officers “a narrative at first that simply didn’t add up,” earlier than he was taken to the police station by a guardian and ultimately confessed to the crime, McIver mentioned.
The chief added the motive behind the double slaying stays unknown.
“We’re nonetheless piecing the puzzle items collectively proper now, there’s lots of items to place collectively, lots of proof that has been collected,” McIver mentioned. “Who is aware of why somebody would do one thing this malicious, and at that age.”
McIver mentioned all people locally knew “Mr. Joe,” including “town is in mourning.”
“That’s what hurts probably the most, when you understand someone that’s been locally that lengthy that’s reached so many individuals, there’s a sorrow.”
Minden is about 30 miles east of Shreveport and has a inhabitants of simply over 12,600.
