NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) – Markquette Martin’s family says they are upset about how little information there is about their son’s death.
Martin died while fleeing officers on Wednesday. Police say he shot himself in what is described as “probably unintentional.”
Read more: Police: Man dies from “probably accidental” self-inflicted shooting while fleeing officers
“I feel like any other father who loses a child. It’s like it just ripped my heart out, “said Markquette Gray, Martin’s father.
Gray was just meters from where Martin died when he spoke to NewsChannel 5 on Thursday about the incident. He heard the Nashville Metro Police report on the incident, but compared to what his neighbors have told him in recent hours, he says he has no clear answers.
Police say a neighbor marked two officers to report a man in a blue “bubble” coat and the hat had a gun and should not have one. Officers say they found a person who fits the description, but when asked to speak, he fled. The man was later identified as Martin.
Officials said Martin shot himself while fleeing officers – something they believe was “probably unintentional”. MNPD spokesman Don Aaron said: “Maybe he had his finger on the trigger guard and in the running, the weapon was unloaded.”
Gray said his son was not suicidal and therefore could not turn the gun on him.
Metro Police officials have released surveillance videos of the incident from the MDHA video system, but that video is interrupted throughout. About the video, police said that “the MDHA video system does not record continuously. The” freezes “in the video come from the system itself.”
Read more: Investigations continue into the deadly shootings in South Nashville
Gray has seen videos shared on social media, and he and his family believe that someone knows exactly what happened.
“I am from here, born and raised. Very loyal to many people here; so I know for sure they will pass, “Gray said.
Metro police say they found a spent case on the spot, and the first clues show that it came from a weapon carried by Martin. According to police officials, preliminary autopsy information shows that Martin died from a single wound that entered through the right side of the head and left, but the mode of death (suicide or accidental) is still under investigation. MNPD also runs ballistics on the bullet and the carcass found on the ground.
Martin’s mother, Lenieshia Woods, says it’s just an attempt to hide what happened to her son and she can’t stand it.
“I do not want to see things slipping under the carpet, as is the case. I want what happened to my son to be noticed and to tell everyone else that it’s not right, “Woods said.
Woods says he asks neighbors to come with their own video or pictures to their family’s church in Saint Luke’s Primitive Baptist in Nashville.
Videos or images can be sent to the email below:
St. Luke’s Baptist Church
Pastor Nicholas Patterson – [email protected]