Two police officers in Louisiana have been charged with second-degree murder in a shooting that left a 6-year-old boy dead and his father critically wounded.
Immediately after the November 3 shooting in the town of Marksville, the officers were placed on administrative leave and later were held in custody to await further hearings.
The dead child has been identified as Jeremy Mardis, a passenger in a car driven by his father, Christopher Few.
In the hours after the gunfire, investigators said the officers, Norris Greenhouse and Derrick Stafford, were attempting to serve Few with warrants and opened fire on the car when the driver tried to hit them.
However, the Louisiana State Police superintendent, Colonel Mike Edmonson, told reporters Friday evening that there was no evidence that a warrant had been issued.
Authorities said the officers chased Few's car into a dead-end street and fired at least 18 shots into his vehicle, with five of them striking the boy.
The child, who had been diagnosed with autism, died at the scene.
"He didn't deserve to die like that," Edmonson said.
