Adrienne Jackson, the mother of MJ Daniels, a Southern Miss football player who was shot and killed in Hattiesburg this week, posted a seven-minute video to Facebook on Saturday providing details about the shooting that police have not released.
The video shows two vehicles, a brown Chevrolet pickup truck and a two-door black Dodge Challenger, which Jackson claims belong to Daniels. Daniels was shot once in the back of the neck while asleep at the wheel of the Challenger, she said.
“That's what he did all the time in the summer,” Jackson said. “He's a country boy. He'd park his car and sleep.”
Jackson panned around the Challenger, showing a small passenger-side window shattered and riddled with bullet holes, as well as a large dent in the top of the driver's door that he said could have been caused by someone trying to break into the car. When the driver's door was opened, he said there were multiple dried bloodstains on the seat and door frame.
Hattiesburg Police said they responded to a report of shots fired at 9:29 p.m. Tuesday in the 6300 block of Highway 49. Daniels was found unconscious in a vehicle at the scene.
Three people were arrested Friday in connection with Daniels' death: Orlando May, 18, of Hattiesburg; Allen Marcus Gardner, 17, of Houston; and Samir Green, 16, of Hattiesburg. All three are charged with murder and attempted armed carjacking. They will have their first court appearance at 11 a.m. Monday and will be charged as adults.
“They took my baby's life with this,” Jackson said. “I want the mothers of those babies to see this. See what I need to see. See this. This is what I need to see.”
more:Family and friends honor Southern Miss' MJ Daniels at a memorial in George County
At the end of the video, another person gets in the driver's seat and revs the Challenger's engine.
“I love you all,” she said. “Please keep praying for us. I feel those prayers. I really do.”
Sam Sklar is a southern Mississippi reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X at @sklarsam_.
