Damien Thompson Jr. was 16 when he was shot and killed in Gulfport, Mississippi, on the morning of Saturday, February 3, 2018. Police were called about a shooting on Ponderosa Drive around 10:30 a.m.; Damien was found with a gunshot wound and pronounced dead less than two hours later. He was described as having a big smile and a love of basketball and had lived with his grandmother for most of his life.

Investigators concluded the shooting was accidental: Damien and two other 15-year-old boys were reportedly filming a social media video while displaying several firearms when a handgun Damien was holding accidentally discharged, sending a single fatal shot into his chest. The other teens allegedly hid two handguns, a shotgun, and a rifle; those weapons were later recovered. The two juveniles were taken into custody on charges of possession of a handgun by a minor and tampering with evidence, and the matter was to be handled in Youth Court with findings presented to a grand jury.

The family noted the painful coincidence that Damien’s father, Damien Thompson, had been shot and killed in 2013 on a street a block north of where Damien Jr. died. Does anyone have information about how the teenagers obtained the firearms or about that morning on Ponderosa Drive?