6th-grader killed in drive-by shooting after graduation ceremony, Mississippi cops say

A 12-year-old boy described as an “incredibly bright star” was killed in a drive-by shooting shortly after his sixth-grade graduation ceremony, according to Mississippi authorities.

Adrian Hawkins-McDougles was shot and killed on May 26 while outside with his 16-year-old brother in Jackson, Mississippi, Jackson police officer Sam Brown told McClatchy News. His brother was also shot but is recovering.

Hawkins-McDougles’ school, Midtown Public Charter School, wrote on Facebook that the student had finished sixth grade on the day of the fatal shooting.

“Our school community is devastated to learn of the passing of Adrian Hawkins-McDougles, an incredibly bright star and a student who just completed the sixth grade today,” the post reads. “Every single student and staff member on campus has at least one positive memory or funny story about Adrian.”

Midtown Partners executive director, Kristi Hendrix, called Hawkins-McDougle’s death “senseless and tragic murder.”

“Like many of you, our emotions and feelings are all over the place – anger, heartbreak,frustration, and emptiness,” Hendrix said in a statement. “A vibrant 12-year-old boy was robbed of his life’s potential on what should have been one of his happiest days.”

Two 18-year-old men were arrested on May 27 and have been charged in the killing of Hawkins-McDougles, police said.

Otha Brown is charged with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a stolen vehicle and drive-by shooting, police said, and Tarkuan Cohen is charged with murder, aggravated assault and drive-by shooting.

On the day of the shooting, the men were riding in a car that had been stolen about two weeks prior, Brown said.

Hawkins-McDougles’ teacher, Luciana Taylor, wrote on Facebook that she was grateful she was able to hug her student and tell him how proud she was of him before he died.

“You were a bright and shining light in 6th grade this year,” she wrote on May 26. “.... You always walked in my room with a smile and the first thing you would ask me is, “You straight Ms. Taylor?” So everyday when you walked in without your smile I would ask, “You straight Adrian?”

In another post, Taylor wrote that on the morning of May 26, Hawkins-McDougles had been laughing and joking with her in class.

“He loved Rod Wave and NBA YoungBoy. (Although he said the new stuff wasn’t as good as the older stuff),” she wrote. “He loved to suck the ketchup out of the packet, would break out and sing a gospel song, and he loved playing basketball!!!!”

Another teacher, Niqua Rodgers, posted a video of McDougles dancing at his desk to the Disney movie, Encanto. She wrote that she wouldn’t normalize Black children being murdered.

“It’s not ok that I spent all year getting him excited about life and his future and somebody took it from him,” she wrote. “No justification for that. My baby was playing basketball and now he’s gone.”

This story was originally published June 1, 2022 at 1:16 PM with the headline "6th-grader killed in drive-by shooting after graduation ceremony, Mississippi cops say."