Family and friends of two Columbus men involved in a fatal shooting are still searching for answers.
Ranzino Ahmad Harris, 22, of 301 Bishop Circle in Columbus, is accused of fatally shooting Justin Murry, 22, of Columbus, and wounding Michael Brewer, 21, of 207 Kermit St. in Columbus, following an altercation inside the house at 1415 Schoolhouse Ave.
Harris appeared before Municipal Court Judge Curtis Austin Wednesday charged with murder, aggravated assault with a weapon and child endangerment. His bond was set at $1.2 million.
Attorney Mark Cliett, who also serves as a municipal court judge in West Point, has been retained to represent Harris. Columbus police officers have yet to meet with both Cliett and Harris, who invoked his right to an attorney and wouldn”t speak to police after turning himself in Monday.
The shooting has left friends and family of both men in shock. Neither man had a prior arrest record, and both were respected for their positive attitudes.
Harris” family insists he is not a violent person.
“This is not in concert with his past behavior. It”s not part of his profile,” said Harris” cousin, Wanda Williams, a Columbus native now living in St. Louis, Mo. “We still aren”t sure what transpired at that house and why the situation escalated. I can”t begin to imagine he would respond in such a way unless he was defending himself.”
During the altercation, Murry was shot once in the chest and once in the back. The second shot to hit Murry also hit Brewer in the hand, leading to the aggravated assault charge. The child endangerment charge was added because four young children, ages 9 and below, were in the home at the time of the shooting.
Columbus police took Harris to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle after he turned himself in to receive treatment for a head wound. Police believe Harris sustained the injury during an altercation with Murry and Brewer inside the Schoolhouse Avenue house moments prior to the shooting.
The fatal incident
The altercation is believed to have occurred when Harris confronted his former girlfriend, Ashley Hill, in the house.
Harris” family claims the head wound raises questions about the course of events.
“For something to get out of hand to that extent, somebody had to be doing something really wrong to Ahmad,” said Willie Harris, Ahmad Harris” great uncle, who is from Columbus but lives in Chicago.
Willie Harris said he would see Ahmad Harris two to three times a year when he visited Columbus but the two remained close. Ahmad regularly helped his grandfather with chores and errands, he added.
“If Tommy needed someone to take him somewhere or mow the lawn, he could depend on his grandkid,” he said.
Willie Harris did not know if Ahmad Harris owned a gun.
Plans for the future
Williams said Ahmad Harris graduated from East Mississippi Community College and was hoping to further his education.
“What he accomplished was extraordinary when you look at the statistics of people who fall into his profile,” she said.
Johnisha Mosley, 20, a Georgia native living in Starkville, worked with Ahmad Harris at Sitel in Starkville, a call center contracted with the U.S. government to field customer service calls for Medicare. She said Harris was known for his intelligence and his patience.
“If someone got an attitude with him over the phone he would sit there calm and quiet. He would never get angry,” she said.
Deontray Meeks, 23, a Mississippi State University graduate from Greenwood, sat next to Ahmad Harris at Sitel and says the two would often talk, although their friendship never extended beyond the workplace. He described Harris as a thinker who looked for deeper meaning, at least in his musical tastes, and as someone who handled stress well.
“The way he took things when pressure was applied, from management or whatever, I”ve never seen him angry one time,” said Meeks.
A blow to the community
Those close to Murry expressed similar surprise he would be the victim of a shooting. Murry is described as the antithesis of a thug: God-fearing and respectful.
Greg Lewis, with the Columbus Recreation Authority, supervised Murry for the past two years as a summer day camp youth supervisor. Lewis had planned to contact Murry Monday to complete his paperwork for employment this summer.
“When camp starts, (the children) are going to want to know where Mr. Justin is. That”s a hurdle we”ll have to get over,” said Lewis. “Some of the children in the camp that know him are missing him already. One kid said ”He played football with us and skated with us.” He was an active participant. The boys really loved him and thought a whole lot of him.
“When news (of Murry”s death) hit our office, the only response was that he was the best summer employee I ever hired. He was exemplary — a model employee.”
Clark Richardson, pastor of Harvest Life Church on Military Road, has been the Murrys” pastor for 12 years. He recalls Justin Murry volunteering at the church as a youth and saw him occasionally when Murry returned from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he was studying criminal justice.
“Justin did know God. He had his struggles, but ultimately he really wanted to honor his faith,” said Richardson.
The community is struggling to deal with the shooting, he said, because it can”t be attributed to lack of parental guidance or a reflection of violence in popular culture.
“Carol (Justin Murry”s mother) was very active in the lives of her children and sought to instill family values in them,” said Richardson. “The incident has left me conflicted personally to try to understand. A lot of questions have risen out of this that are not easy to answer.”
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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