JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
As Pastor Henry Hankins shows us around the grounds of his parsonage, pointing out the lights installed by his cousin, Robert Earl McCoy, and the porch he designed, he says there's not much McCoy couldn't do.
"During Christmas he cooked cakes for the family, also he cooked cakes for his mother," Pastor Hankins says. "He was one of the most valuable people we had in the ministry."
Pastor Hankins has been getting support from friends after learning of McCoy's untimely death on Wednesday. He was shot and killed while working a remodeling job on an empty house on Thousand Oaks Drive.
Thursday night, Jackson Police arrested 17 year old Tyshun Robinson for the crime. Robinson apparently moved to that neighborhood recently with his parents. We've learned Robinson had been expelled from Terry High School for fighting.
Pastor Hankins says he has learned that Robinson dropped by the house earlier Wednesday, telling McCoy and the homeowner he was looking for a friend. When the homeowner left, Robinson allegedly came back and committed the crime. The motive is unclear.
"Maybe the young man mistook him for someone else, because brother McCoy don't have no enemies. He has no enemies period," Pastor Hankins says.
McCoy leaves behind six children ranging in age from 3 to 18. His wife is currently pregnant. Hankins says she's coping with the help of family, but he hopes young people will realize how many lives they affect when they commit violence for any reason.
"These are the last days. It's not gonna get any better. It's gonna get worse," he says, calling out for parents, churches, and communities to step into the lives of troubled young people.
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