An 11-year-old boy called police for help and an officer shot him 2:18

(CNN)-- The 11-year-old boy who was shot in the chest by a Mississippi police officer after calling 911 for help says he began praying and singing during what he thought would be his last moments alive as his mother pressed on his wound to stop the bleeding.


Aderrien Murry sang the gospel song "No Weapon Formed Against Me Shall Prosper" in the moments after the May 20 shooting, she told CNN's Nick Valencia in an interview Tuesday. He then told his mother to tell his family and teacher that he was "sorry for what he had done."

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It was their prayers that helped save his life, Aderrien said. But thoughts of what might have happened still haunt him.

"Sometimes, I can see myself lying inside the coffin. Those are my nightly thoughts, the only ones I have," says Aderrien, speaking quietly throughout the interview, but often with wisdom far superior to his young age. "Sometimes I think people are watching me. But the main thing I think about is me dead, inside the coffin."

Nearly 10 days after the shooting, Aderrien told CNN that some parts of his body still hurt, he has trouble breathing and isn't able to do things like run or jump. But he is alive, and that, he said, is "by the grace of God."

"I believe God has a plan for me. I don't know which one yet," he said, but "I'll know soon."

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Aderrien Murry, right, and his mother Nakala show CNN where he was shot. Credit: CNN

He followed police orders and was shot.

Aderrien was shot in the chest by an Indianola Police Department officer as the officer responded to a domestic disturbance call at the boy's home, CNN previously reported. Indianola police confirmed the officer who shot Aderrien was Greg Capers.

Capers has not responded to CNN's requests for comment. Police have not provided additional details about the shooting.

The shooting is being investigated by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

Last week, the Indianola Board of Aldermen voted to place Capers on paid administrative leave while the investigation into the shooting is conducted, the attorney representing the boy and his mother told CNN.

The boy's mother, Nakala Murry, asked Aderrien to call police after the father of another of her children arrived home after 4 a.m. that Saturday in an "irate" state.

Aderrien told CNN she had told the operator the man didn't have a gun, and that her mother also told police when they arrived that she didn't have a gun.

Upon arrival, police shouted at everyone in the house to come out with their hands up, the boy recalled. And when Aderrien came out, he was shot.

"I just tried to follow the orders of the police, but I guess it didn't work," the boy said.

An 11-year-old boy called police for help and an officer shot him 2:18

Following the shooting, the boy was intubated and put on a ventilator, CNN reported. He had a collapsed lung, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver, according to his mother. He was discharged Wednesday.

"If I hadn't been informed about the case, I wouldn't have believed this could be possible. Did a trained officer shoot an unarmed 11-year-old?" said Carlos Moore, the attorney representing the boy and his mother. "To do this, shoot a child who obeyed his orders, came out with his hands up, and was shot in the chest. Unheard of."

"(Aderrien) trusted the police, called the police to come to his mother's aid and turns around and gets shot by the officer he called to rescue them," Moore said.

Moore claimed the incident was recorded by police body cameras, adding that his request for those images was denied due to the ongoing investigation.

In an off-camera interview with CNN, Indianola Mayor Ken Featherstone said the Board of Aldermen would meet again on an emergency Tuesday to discuss camera footage of the incident.

The boy's family filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming $5 million for excessive force, negligence, reckless endangerment and civil assault, among other charges.

The mayor said of the lawsuit that he hopes to "repair everybody," but that the city "doesn't have $5 million in the bank."

  • A routine traffic stop ended with a dangerous getaway and a policeman clinging to the car.

The family wants the agent fired

Aderrien told CNN he wants to know why he was shot and that the officer who did it lose his job.

"I could have lost my life. It's all because of you," he said when asked what he would say to Capers. "I want you fired for what you did to me."

His perception of police has changed since the shooting, he added. But that's not all that's changed: When you're alone in dark rooms, you often think there are people and agents inside your home. Sometimes, he thinks he sees the officer who shot him "standing on street corners, staring at me."

During the same interview, Nakala Murry said she is grateful that her son is alive, but that she wants justice for what happened, and that includes better training of police officers and the firing of Capers.

"I'm upset, but I'm so overjoyed to have my son that I don't have time to be upset, I trust the law to make the right decision," she said Tuesday, but added: "Something needs to be done."

He wonders if it would have been safer not to have called the police in the first place. She told CNN that after she threw herself on the ground to help press on her son's gunshot wound and start praying with Aderrien, the officer began praying with them.

"We just need peace," he said. "And we need justice."

Featherstone, the mayor, said he cannot support firing the officer "before I know all the facts, and right now I don't know all the facts." He added that he has not seen body camera footage of the incident and has not spoken to Capers.

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