CANTON, Miss. (WLBT) – Canton police continue the investigation into Thursday night’s fatal shooting of a 42-year-old man and a 5-year-old boy.
Three people are wanted in connection with the crime. As families mourn, Canton’s mayor is taking measures to stop the violence.
A grieving mother is asking why her son was killed while she was waiting to get gas. Catalina Romero was running errands when a stray bullet hit Jeison Romero Lopez in the back seat of her suv.
“I was inside my car trying to wait for a man to put in his gas so I could take my turn and put it in,” said Catalina Romero. “But then I heard three shots, I thought were fireworks.”
Romero’s husband, Lopez’s father is Esquio Mateo. He wants justice and a quick arrest of those responsible.
“My boy was just a little saint,” said Mateo. “He did nothing wrong. He was just in the wrong place in the wrong time.”
The little boy would have turned six on September 15.
Also killed in that shooting was 42-year-old Tracy Wilder. He was working on a car on Franklin Street when police say three men opened fire. Canton Mayor William Truly is imposing a curfew for minors starting Friday night.
“You end up punishing kids who are not gun carriers,” said Truly. “You end up punishing kids who are good law abiding citizens. But sometimes you have to do what is for the greater good of the community”.
The mayor said the curfew will be in effect for two weeks.
The parents of the child are asking for help with his burial. They say Breeland Funeral Home in Canton is handling the arrangements.
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