Family mourns death of loved one after east Jackson shooting

JACKSON, Tenn. — “There’s no reason why you should kill your mother,” said Efrem James, brother of Ermateen James.

Efrem James is in disbelief that his sister was shot and killed Tuesday night.

Family members released balloons and lit candles Wednesday night to remember 52-year-old Ermateen James.

“There was shots fired at my sister’s address. Upon arriving here, I learned that my sister had been shot by her son,” Efrem James said.

Jackson police found Ermateen unresponsive inside a home on Highview Street in east Jackson. She later died at a local hospital.

Investigators took her son, 37-year-old Antonio James, into custody for allegedly shooting his mother.

Efrem said his nephew and sister had a disagreement that led to the shooting.

“From what I was told, she asked him to leave, and he didn’t want to leave, and he turned and shot her in the head,” Efrem James said. “I mean, don’t no arguments amount to the death of your mother.”

The investigation is ongoing as family members continue to mourn.

“Even though that’s her son, you know, I lost a sister and a nephew,” James said. “She loved her son. That was her only son. Like I said, she would have laid down her life for him.”

“She was the bestest, bestest, bestest, bestest, bestest, bestest, bestest sister I ever had in my life,” Ermateen’s sister Mary James said. “So that’s how I feel, and I know that that’s how she would feel if he came down to me.”

Police say Antonio James is charged with first-degree murder. He appeared Thursday in Jackson City Court and is being held without bond.