The grandmother of a slain Jackson State University freshman said Thursday her family wasn't surprised by the arrest of a cousin.
“We had assumed it might’ve been his gun that did it," Alma Henderson told the AJC by telephone from her home in Mississippi, saying the family knew the accused shooter had firearms and had brought two of them to a confrontation at an off-campus party.
Nolan "Ryan" Henderson, 19, of Stone Mountain, died early Sunday at the Palisades Apartments in Jackson, Miss., according to police.
Late Wednesday, Jarrod Emerson, 25, of Jackson, was charged with murder in Ryan Henderson's death, the Jackson Police Department said.
According to investigators, Ryan Henderson was involved in a fight at the complex's swimming pool with several players from the JSU football team and was assaulted. The teen left the fight and called Emerson, his cousin, who was nearby, police said.
The cousins then returned to the complex, not far from the university campus, to confront those responsible for the alleged assault, police said.
"Ryan should have never gone back," Alma Henderson said Thursday.
At the complex, Emerson pulled out his gun and fired several shots, sending people scattering in different directions, police said.
Ryan Henderson dropped after being struck by a bullet. He reportedly was shot in the face and found on the ground in front of an apartment building near 1400 Valley St.
"Ballistics tests have been conducted by the Mississippi State Crime Lab on the projectile recovered from the victim as well as the weapon that Emerson fired," Jackson police said in a news release Wednesday. "Those tests revealed that the projectile recovered from the victim matched the weapon that Emerson was firing."
Alma Henderson says she believes those involved in the initial fight at the party should also be held accountable for her grandson's death. "They didn't kill him, but they were indirectly the cause of it," she said.
Hundreds of people attended a candlelight vigil held in Ryan Henderson's honor Tuesday night, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
Henderson's younger brother, Damien Henderson, 17, said at the vigil, "Ryan meant the world to me. He was my best friend. Everything I do was for him."
"I just don't understand; he was such a good person. Nobody knew me more than Ryan did," Damien said.
The slain Henderson, who was born in Jackson, was a health care administration major at JSU and had a 3.6 GPA, his grandmother said. She said her grandson had told her he would come visit her since moving to Mississippi for college, but never got the chance.
The university released a statement after the arrest.
"This is a sad ending to a tragic situation," JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers said. "The Jackson State University family continues to mourn for Nolan and will offer all of the support we can to the Henderson family. We will also continue to provide our complete support to the Jackson Police Department until its case is brought to full closure."
The funeral for Ryan Henderson will be held Saturday in Jackson, his grandmother said.
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