The mother of a Jackson State University student is blaming members of the school’s football team for the death of her 19-year-old son. Nolan Ryan Henderson III was killed Sunday, March 25 at off-campus housing near the historically black college.
The victim’s mother, Sanya Henderson, tells The Clarion-Ledger that she believes members of the football team are involved and heard that her son was jumped and beaten by at least a dozen members before he received a fatal gunshot wound to the face.
“They are doing very little with the football players. They have only interviewed two of those players,” she said. “They’re saying they can’t get the entire team down here to question them. I don’t know why.”
Henderson’s father, Nolan Ryan Henderson, Jr., has also spoken out and told 11 Alive News that his son may have been targeted after he accidentally bumped into a JSU football player.
“I’ve been told that he bumped into a football player. He apologized, but things escalated from that,” Henderson, Jr. said. “He never had a bad bone in his body. He was just a good kid.”
Jackson State President Carolyn W. Meyers met with the victim’s parents yesterday and has since released a statement saying, “This is the time to step forward. We need to do whatever we can to help the Henderson family and the Jackson State family. We are all grieving.”
