Hazlehurst officer discovers son’s body in the road after responding to a call

HAZLEHURST, Miss. (WLBT) - Early Sunday morning, Officer Laquandia Cooley responded to a shooting on Larkin Street.

But little did she know that she was about to walk into her worst nightmare.

“We initially responded to the call, not knowing when I made it over there, the person was going to be my son that was laying there.”

Charles Stewart, Jr., 20, was laying in the middle of the street after being shot in the head. When his mother, Officer Cooley arrived at the scene, he had already died.

“As we get out, I look and I was like, ‘This is my son, this is my son.’ So, I literally just go into a break down you know? Like, why? Who would do this to my son?”

And that’s a sight Cooley says she’ll never forget.

“I couldn’t even believe what I was seeing. I was seeing my own son laying there on the ground dead. It was pretty much a panic. It was just, it was too much.”

Stewart, Jr.’s father, Charles Stewart, says he was a good person who got along with everyone and did not bother anyone. So when he found out that his son was killed, he couldn’t believe it.

“It’s traumatizing for the whole family. We’re just trying to cope day to day. Just trying to figure out why this happened and who could have did this.”

Chief Darian Murray says because the case involves an officer’s family member, the case will be handed over to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

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