Police shot a teenager after he refused to comply with a police officer’s demand to drop his weapon outside of a Family Dollar last week, Gulfport’s police chief said during a brief press conference Tuesday.

Jaheim McMillan, 15, was shot by Gulfport police Thursday and died of a gunshot wound to the head after he was taken off of life support at a Mobile hospital Saturday.

McMillan’s family is calling for justice in the killing of the Gulfport High freshman. There have been at least two protests outside of the police department in downtown Gulfport since McMillan’s death, including one Tuesday immediately after Police Chief Adam Cooper’s press conference.

“The officer gave orders to him to stop and drop his weapon. McMillan did not comply,” Cooper said. “McMillan turned his body and his weapon toward the officer. The officer fired at McMillan.”

Cooper also pushed back against stories circulating on social media, but did not elaborate further on what was being said.

“There are lots of stories trending on social media about what happened,” he said. “Many of them are simply wrong.”

Cooper declined to take questions from Sun Herald reporters after the press conference.

Teen’s mom has questions for Gulfport police

McMillans’ mom, Katrina Mateen, was one of a dozen people protesting outside of the police department Tuesday and said she believes police are trying to intimidate her by driving past her house at night and flashing the lights on their patrol cars.

“Gulfport police know who I am and always have,” she told the Sun Herald. “I just wanna know why. Why did they have to shoot my son?”

Mateen said she has not spoken to any officers who have driven past her house.

Mateen keeps the community updated on her Facebook page, where she’s also been mourning her child’s death.

“I need my son … come back Jaheim I can’t live without you,” she posted, along with a TikTok video of photos of McMillan from when he was a toddler and child.

Protesters held sings that said “Justice For Jaheim” and “No Justice No Peace.” A black SUV was decorated with #JusticeForJaheim and the phrase “Hands up don’t work.”

Angela McMillan, was emotional as she held up a sign that said “WHY” in large letters.

Mateen held small posters that had her son’s photo on it. She is one of many on Facebook calling for release of police body camera footage from the shooting.

What records say about police shooting of Gulfport teen

McMillan was one of three teens wearing camouflage masks and threatening another motorist with guns last week, according to affidavits filed in the case.

McMillan was in a silver Kia Soul with four other teens who started following another driver on Mississippi 605 around 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 6.

The driver told police he first noticed the Soul driving recklessly near Interstate 10 in Gulfport. The driver said some of the occupants in the car started “flipping them off” near Seaway Road and continued to follow the driver.

Later, both vehicles stopped next to each other on Mississippi 605 at Brentwood Boulevard, where the driver reported seeing a teen, believed to be McMillan, in the right rear passenger seat waving a gun.

The records say both vehicles took off when the light turned green, but the driver who called the police said the silver Kia with McMillan and the other minors inside kept following the car.

Before the driver got away from the Kia, he told police he saw the right rear passenger in the Kia Soul wave a gun again, this time while wearing a camouflage mask, the records say.

The driver got away from the car near Courthouse Road, the records say.

Guflport police tracked down the the Kia Soul in the Family Dollar parking lot on Pass Road, where police subsequently shot McMillan.

Gulfport police arrested the four other minors.

In interviews with officers, the records say the teens admitted to following the other car and identified the three who were wearing masks and brandishing firearms. The teens confirmed McMillan was one of the three wearing masks and waving a gun.

Police recovered a mask and various guns in the car.

An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

This story was originally published October 11, 2022 5:42 PM.

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