Police in Louisiana arrested a 10-year-old boy who allegedly confessed to fatally shooting a former mayor and his daughter, NBC News reported Tuesday.
Shreveport Police Chief Jared McIver said officers found Joe Cornelius Sr., 82, and Keisha Miles, 31, dead Sunday morning after arriving at the former mayor’s home in Minden, a city of nearly 12,000 people east of Shreveport, according to NBC. (RELATED: Newly Elected Mayor Assassinated In Southern Mexico)
McIver said the victims’ bodies were riddled with gunshot wounds from two handguns that were found with empty magazines, NBC reported.
A 10-year-old boy in north Louisiana has been arrested after allegedly admitting to fatally shooting a former city official and his daughter. https://t.co/GV0s0yGrp6
— FOX 8 New Orleans (@FOX8NOLA) September 1, 2024
“Our city is in shock,” McIver said. “How does a 10-year-old commit something so malicious?”
McIver said the child was a relative of the victims but did not provide further details about the shooting or identify a possible motive, NBC reported.
The boy gave a different account of the alleged shooting at first, but with his grandmother by his side Sunday afternoon, he allegedly confessed to pulling the trigger, according to the outlet.
Cornelius was an active participant in the town’s affairs, operating as a well-known community activist, City Council member and deputy ward marshal for the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office, KTAL reported.
Cornelius became interim mayor in 2013 after Minden’s mayor died in office, according to the outlet.
“Joe Cornelius’s years of service to Minden were marked by his commitment and dedication to the betterment of our community,” Minden Mayor Nick Cox said in a statement. “Let us come together as a community to honor Joe’s memory and support one another through this time of grief.”
McIver said the boy was being held on two counts of first degree-murder, but it’s unclear if he has a lawyer to represent him, NBC reported.
