Left inset: Shirley Johnson (GoFundMe). Right inset: Jamal Jones (City of St. Louis Division of Corrections). Background: The car that Shirley Johnson was sitting in when she was allegedly shot to death by Jamal Jones in St. Louis (KMOV).
A Missouri grandmother was shot and killed in front of her grandson while sitting in a car with him, according to police. Cops say the grandson had accidentally “backed into” a neighbor”s car right before the slaying, which led to his grandmother‘s murder.
“If anything, I would have rather shot him [the grandson] than her,” said Jamal Jones, 32, during a police interview after killing 55-year-old Shirley Johnson outside her home in St. Louis on March 31, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Jones allegedly admitted to opening fire on the car that Johnson and her grandson, Markel McCurry, were sitting in immediately after they backed into him. “The defendant admitted to firing a shot, claiming he wanted to intimidate [the grandson] so he would not strike his car again,” the affidavit says.
McCurry told police he had gotten out of the car “to try to offer to pay for the damage” before realizing that Johnson had been shot in the back and was dying. She was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead upon her arrival.
“[McCurry] heard a loud noise from outside the car and then proceeded to get out of the car to talk to the defendant,” the affidavit recounts. “The defendant admitted that [McCurry] had gotten out of the car to try to offer to pay for the damage.”
McCurry told local CBS affiliate KMOV that he went into “shock” after realizing what had happened. “We heard a shot, pow,” he recalled. “I’m saying like, ‘Show me where I hit [Jones’ car], if you come down here and show me.’ … I go look around and see blood coming from her body. … I’m in awe.”
McCurry described how Johnson “meant everything” to him and was his “best friend,” according to KMOV. The shooting has left him feeling guilty, he said.
“I don’t feel like I saved the day,” McCurry explained. “Superheroes save the day. I wasn’t a big enough superhero for not just somebody random but for my grandmother.”
Describing the relationship they had, McCurry told KMOV, “She always texts me every time she cook[s]: ‘I’m cooking today, baby.’ So, I know I’m never gonna get [those] text messages.”
The grieving grandson wrote on GoFundMe that he is “trying to cope with this loss” in the wake of what happened. “My grandmother was shot and killed right in front of me,” he said in the description.
Jones was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and assault. An order for detention says Jones works at a post office and has no criminal history, per his defense attorney. The document claims he is “having memory issues currently.”
A bond hearing has been set for Wednesday.
