A Tennessee mother’s birthday turned into a nightmare when she learned her teenage son had been killed in a shooting by a family member.
Jaquisha Beasley revealed that her 13-year-old son, Ladarrius Payne, died earlier this month. The Memphis Police Department confirmed that a 15-year-old has been charged with reckless homicide in connection with the death. The suspect is reportedly Beasley’s nephew.
Shooting in Memphis
The shooting occurred on May 17 at around 5:45 p.m. in the 2700 block of Ketchum Place in Memphis, Tennessee. When officers arrived, they found Ladarrius suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Beasley said she was in New Orleans celebrating her birthday the day before when she received the tragic news. “I received the worst news a mother could ever receive,” she wrote in a GoFundMe post.
Remembering Ladarrius
Beasley described her son as a bright and active student. “He was in 7th grade at Memphis Academy of Science & Engineering, an honors student, and also played on multiple football teams. My son’s life was taken away due to gun violence… I would never imagine losing a child,” she said.
Because the investigation is ongoing, Beasley has been given few details about the incident. Family members told local NBC affiliate WMC that the teenage suspect is her nephew.
Her sister, Kenna Miller, expressed the family’s heartbreak. “You just don’t understand how it can go this way. It’s kind of like two lives. I lost my nephew, my sister’s son, and I lost my other nephew really because we don’t know how his outcome is going to be.”
Family Struggles After the Tragedy
In recent weeks, Beasley and her children had been searching for a new home and were in the process of bidding on one. The tragedy forced her to pause those plans.
“I had to pause everything because I had to use our house money to pay for my son’s funeral,” she said. “At this moment, my three children and I are staying with family members.”
The 15-year-old suspect’s name has not been released.
