Family of boy fatally shot in St. Paul mourns not only his loss, but arrest of 14-year-old brother

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

The family of a 12-year-old boy fatally shot in St. Paul is mourning not only his loss, but also his 14-year-old brother’s arrest in the case.

Police booked the teen into the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center Saturday on suspicion of manslaughter.

“I know it was an accident,” said Charlette Williams, an older cousin of Markee Jones, on Monday.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office said Monday that police presented an investigation for review, and state data privacy laws prohibit them from providing any additional information.

Williams said the 14-year-old has been calling the family crying.

“That was his brother,” she said. “He’s in there hurting. He wants to be there for his mom.”

Officers were called just before 5 a.m. Saturday on a report of a juvenile who’d been shot in the North End. Police found a 12-year-old, who family identified as Markee, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Relatives say the shooting happened in a family member’s residence on Stinson Street between Farrington and Galtier streets.

Paramedics transported Markee to the hospital, where he died that morning.

Williams said Monday she doesn’t know where the gun came from.

The home where Markee was spending the night is his grandmother’s and another relative said Saturday that guns weren’t kept in the house.

It’s “a safe spot, so they know any time, any day, they can go to their grandma’s house,” Williams said.

The grandmother was attending a religious retreat. An adult uncle of Williams’ was staying at the house with the kids and woke up to the shooting.

Markee’s mom had moved her kids from St. Paul’s East Side to a suburb recently. “She was scared of stuff like this,” Williams said.

The family held a vigil Sunday night and released balloons. Markee loved playing football and basketball, and spending time with his cousins and family.

“He was so, so smart,” Williams said Monday. “He was funny. He was a class clown.”

Williams said Monday that she believes her 14-year-old cousin shouldn’t be held in custody and should be allowed to be with his mother.

“Both of them are her babies and she’s empty,” Williams said. “They’re making the problem worse.”

St. Paul police hadn’t received a formal request as of Monday morning about releasing the 14-year-old boy, said Molly McMillen, a St. Paul police spokesperson.

“We have compassion for what they’re feeling and, at the same time, our role is to continue the investigation so that family has answers and the legal process moves forward,” McMillen said.

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