Background: The apartments in Newport News, Va., where Emmanuel Jackson was fatally shot on Jan. 23 (WVEC). Inset: Emmanuel Jackson (GoFundMe).
A Missouri man who traveled to Virginia to help his friend move was fatally shot, and his family members have said they did not want him going there in the first place.
Emmanuel Jackson, 20, was shot and killed on Jan. 23 in Newport News, Virginia, in an incident that the Newport News Police Department said it is still investigating. Police arrested 22-year-old Jaylan Ellis, who lives in the area, and charged him with involuntary manslaughter and discharging a firearm in a building or dwelling.
Jackson's family members spoke to local ABC affiliate WVEC to express their dissatisfaction with the charges and to remember their lost loved one.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by WVEC, Ellis' wife called 911 after the shooting at the apartment. Officers responded to the scene at 10:46 p.m. and found Jackson inside, "seated in a recliner" with a gunshot wound to the head. He was unresponsive, and Ellis was applying pressure to the wound. Paramedics arrived and transported Jackson to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said Ellis told them he had moved into the apartment eight days earlier, adding that Jackson was there to help him. Ellis described Jackson as his "best friend," and had planned to pay for his ticket back home to Missouri. Both Ellis and his wife said the shooting was an accident.
In the complaint, Ellis said he and Jackson were both sitting in armchairs in the living room in the moments leading up to the shooting. Ellis told police that Jackson brought the shotgun into the living room and took out the magazine. Ellis then put the magazine back into the shotgun, but did not make sure the weapon was clear of ammunition. At some point, he stood up while holding the shotgun and pointed it at Jackson. Ellis said the gun accidentally went off and fired a shot into Jackson's head.
Ellis told police he immediately dropped the gun and ran to help Jackson while yelling to his wife to call 911.
Jackson's aunt, Esther Kimbrough, told WVEC that the family had reservations about him making the trip. She said, "We never felt comfortable with him going, but being the friend that Emmanuel was, he insisted."
Kimbrough added that the family did not believe the involuntary manslaughter charge was sufficient. She told WVEC, "I believe that charge was too lenient. From what we're knowing and from what we're hearing, more should have been done. The system has failed Emmanuel Jackson."
Ellis is scheduled to appear in court on May 12.