Mother of Mississippi Police Shooting Suspect Says Son Was On Pills
Mary Smith, whose two sons have been arrested, apologized for the shooting.
— -- The mother of two of the four suspects who have been arrested and charged in connection with the fatal shootings of two police officers in Mississippi has blamed her son's alleged actions on drugs.
Mary Smith, who is the mother of both Curtis and Marvin Banks, spoke out today about her sadness over this weekend's shooting and her exasperation at her sons' actions.
"They still getting them pills," she told ABC affiliate WDAM, without specifying what kind of drugs they allegedly take.
"I want to talk to him, I want to ask what's wrong. Lord knows I tried, I tried," she said of one of her sons.
Two Hattiesburg police officers, Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate, were shot and killed Saturday night after a traffic stop.
Marvin Banks and his girlfriend Joanie Calloway are both charged with two counts of murder, while his younger brother Curtis is charged with accessory to murder and Marvin Banks' friend, Cornelius Clark, is charged with obstruction of justice, authorities said.
Smith told the Associated Press that she thought Marvin, 29, looked high in his mugshot.
"You could tell something was wrong with him," she said.
She said that she would be attending her sons' initial hearings, which are scheduled for this afternoon, because "they're still my children, I still love them."
"I'm sorry the tragedy happened," she said.