MEMPHIS, TN — A Memphis family is mourning after 13-year-old Ladarrius Payne was fatally shot earlier this month by a 15-year-old relative, authorities reported. The suspect has been charged with reckless homicide.
Shooting Incident
On May 17, at approximately 5:45 p.m., Memphis police responded to a shooting call in the 2700 block of Ketchum Place. Officers found Ladarrius Payne suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Family Reactions
Ladarrius’s mother, Jaquisha Beasley, said she was in New Orleans celebrating her birthday when she received the devastating news. “I received the worst news a mother could ever receive,” Beasley wrote in a GoFundMe post. She described her son as an honors student at Memphis Academy of Science & Engineering who also played on multiple football teams.
Beasley’s sister, Kenna Miller, expressed the family’s heartbreak, noting that losing Ladarrius also deeply affects the teenage suspect, who is Beasley’s nephew. “It’s kind of like two lives… we don’t know how his outcome is going to be,” Miller said.
Ongoing Investigation and Impact
The 15-year-old suspect’s name has not been released, and the investigation is ongoing. Beasley noted that funeral expenses have disrupted family plans, including a home purchase, and that she and her children are staying with relatives while processing their loss.
