A heroic mother in Indiana was slain by a teen gunman during a private, Facebook Marketplace sale. The heroic mother stepped between her son and an 18-year-old gunman who pulled a firearm on them shortly after he arrived to, they thought, buy a watch from them. The incident occurred on the front porch of their home.
The mother involved was Jean Gragg, 40 years old. She and her son, a teenager, were attempting to sell a watch on Facebook Marketplace, and asked prospective buyer John Ford to come meet them on their Edison Park, Indiana, home, which is near the University of Notre Dame. The meetup occurred on June 10, at around 10 pm.
Describing the incident in a post on Facebook, the South Bend Police Department said, “The victim’s son stated that while looking at the watch, the suspect brandished a firearm and attempted to grab the watch from him. During this time, Gragg moved between her son and the suspect, ultimately chasing the suspect away from the property. At that time, the suspect pointed the handgun toward the porch and fired the gun, striking Gragg before running off.”
Continuing, the statement said, “The South Bend Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit ultimately identified the suspect as 18-year-old John Ford. Ford, along with the firearm used in the shooting, were located at an apartment complex in South Bend. Ford was arrested Thursday afternoon. On Friday, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office charged Ford with two counts of Attempted Murder and one count of Robbery. Ford is being held at the St. Joseph County Jail.”
And, describing the response of the officers in the original post, the South Bend Police Department noted, “On Wednesday, June 10, around 9:50 p.m., South Bend Police responded to the 2600 block of Mac Arthur Avenue on the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers located 40-year-old Jean Gragg, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. She was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. She remains in critical condition. While on-scene, officers spoke with Gragg’s juvenile son, who stated he arranged a transaction through Facebook Marketplace to sell a watch. The juvenile stated the suspect met them on the front porch of their residence.”
A tragic update had to be posted later in which teh department noted that Mrs. Gragg had passed away, and thug that the teen suspect is facing murder charges rather than just attempted murder, and he is still also facing the armed robbery charge and the attempted murder charge over the horrible incident.
The police said, “Charges have been upgraded for the suspect arrested in connection with last week’s shooting on Mac Arthur Avenue. The victim in the June 10 shooting, 40-year-old Jean Gragg, passed away from her injuries this past weekend. Therefore, charges for the suspect, 18-year-old John Ford, have been upgraded to reflect her death. Ford is now charged with Murder, Attempted Murder and Armed Robbery.”
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Friends of the Gragg family created a GoFundMe to help the family through this trying time. Describing the incident and reason for the fundraiser, the fundraiser said, “When Jean stepped in to support her son, the man went over the edge. He pulled out a handgun and shot her point blank in the head in her own driveway, in front of her family. She was then taken to the hospital nearby where she underwent intensive care, and later pronounced braindead. As of June 13th at 6 pm, she has been taken off life support. This has rocked all of the lives of anyone who knew her, but more importantly the family she left behind. She had become such a good friend to me and the least I can do is raise money for the people left behind in the wake of this tragedy. I created this gofundme as a family friend and someone who became close with Jean, to help them fund whatever may come during this time. After we’ve raised as much money as we can I will pull the funds and give them to a chosen family member to be allocated as needed. Please donate if you can so we can help them get through this difficult time without having to worry about the funeral and the financial aspect of it all. Thank you from all of us.”
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Featured image credit: Gragg image from GoFundMe, John Ford image from South Bend Police Department