OXFORD, Miss. — A deadly shooting in South Carolina had a big impact here in the Mid-South.
Fadol Brown, a football player at the University of Mississippi, called the man gunned down by the police officer his step dad since he was like a father figure in his life.
“Walter Scott was my step dad. I loved him to death. That cop didn’t have to shoot him down like a dog like that. Going to miss you man,” Kendrick Pittman, a sophomore at Ole Miss, reading Brown’s tweet.
The tweet from Brown was posted last night after Scott shot in the back by a South Carolina police officer over the weekend.
“My heart dropped. Like I can only imagine. It was horrible. It was terrifying,” Pittman said.
WREG was told Brown is from Charleston, South Carolina where the shooting happened.
The football player was too shaken up to talk on Wednesday, but his coach, Hugh Freeze, sent the following statement:
“Walter Scott was in a relationship with the mother of Fadol’s longtime girlfriend and served as a father figure to Fadol for a number of years. Obviously this is a very emotional and difficult time for all parties involved, and our thoughts are with Fadol and his loved ones after this tragic event.”
“Police violence against unarmed people of color affects all of us. It really is detrimental to our society. And I think with the recent death of Walter Scott and how it actually affected our community — I think that’s important to show,” Allen Cook said.
Although the shooting happened more than 600 miles away, students said it hit close to home because it affected one of their own.
“Someone so close to us you know. Somebody who’s walking around this campus and something like this happens that far away. It really does,” Pittman explained.
The athletic department said the shooting was too sensitive for them to talk about on camera, but a spokesperson said their thoughts are with Fadol and his family.
