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One son killed, the other imprisoned for manslaughter, but was the real villain in the Columbia family’s tragedy a faulty Remington rifle trigger?

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COLUMBIA – A Columbia family whose life was altered by a gun is retelling their story in an audio memoir, reflecting on losing one son to a faulty trigger and seeing the other go to prison for their sibling’s death. 

“Something Ain’t Right” retells the story of the Stringer family and was recorded by father Roger and son Zac. Roger calls the 2011 gun death of his younger son, Justin, as “The Happening” that changed the course of the family’s life. 

“Everything that needed to come out has come out,” Zac, who is now 27, said in an interview.

Roger said telling the story in his own voice was therapeutic.

Roger Stringer sits in his living room as he talks about the audio memoir he made with his son, Zachary Stringer, in Columbia, Friday, July 7, 2023. Their audio memoir, Something Ain’t Right, tells the story of when Roger’s youngest Justin was shot by a riffle with a faulty trigger, which sent Zachary to prison Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

He grew up hunting and handling guns and passed that down to his sons. That changed June 11, 2011, when Justin died from a gunshot at the age of 12. Fifteen-year-old Zac said the trigger of his Remington Model 700 rifle went off on its own, but prosecutors, community members and his father didn’t believe that was possible. 

“I remember seeing the impact and as the rifle recoiled and it fell out of my hands, and I was just standing there numb,” Zac said in the audio memoir. “I knew immediately he’s dead. Like he’s dead, his head is gone … You can’t fix a catastrophic headwound like that.”

At 16, Zac was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to serve 10 years in prison with 10 years probation. Because of his age, he in-carcerated at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility’s Youth Offender Unit. As an adult, Zac went to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

He and his father had to rebuild their relationship, even as Roger didn’t believe Zac, who maintained that the shooting was accidental and the gun shot on its own.

In 2015, Roger was talking with a friend who mentioned he had a deer hunting rifle that fired on its own. It led- Roger to turn to Google and search for information about Remington Model 700s firing spontaneously. 

He found news coverage, YouTube videos and lawsuits alleging Remington manufactured faulty triggers that went off on their own. There was an April 2014 recall of the company’s Model 700 and Model Seven rifles with XMP triggers that “could, under certain circumstances, unintentionally discharge.” 

“I feel like Remington and its string pullers have hidden behind that to avoid accountability for pushing a defective product onto the public,” Roger said in the audio memoir.

Recovering this information and connecting with other families who lost children to Remington firearms with faulty triggers helped Roger believe Zac and fight to prove that. They hired an attorney to appeal Zac’s case and tried to track down a firearms expert who would challenge the gun manufacturer and give an affidavit about defective triggers and spontaneous shooting.

“All I want is the truth,” Roger said in an interview. “That’s all we’ve ever wanted.”

Zac Stringer poses for a portrait in Hattiesburg, Miss., Friday, July 7, 2023. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Zac was released from prison in October 2016 after serving about half of his sentence due to good behavior. 

In 2018, the Stringers filed a federal lawsuit against Remington that made it to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, but in November 2022 the suit was denied due to time limitations. 

Remington filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and in 2020, which was the year the company closed. Roger said he is watching if its players come back and begin manufacturing firearms again.

With Zac out of prison and Remington gone, the family’s focus has been overturning Zac’s conviction.

In 2017, the Mississippi Supreme Court granted him permission to return to the Marion County Circuit Court to ask for a new trial.

This month, there was an examination of the gun that killed Justin at the State Crime Lab. From there, the next step is an evidentiary hearing, which could lead to a new trial where new evidence, such as the Remington recall, can be introduced, the Stringers said.

“It would be like a vindication,” Zac said about overturning his conviction.

That could also remove barriers in employment and the ability to own a firearm placed on Zac. He also sees the impact his conviction has in his relationships, like when he tells people for the first time that he has been in prison.

Even if that conviction stands, Zac said he is content and that life is going well. Regardless of outcome, that may not change the view of community and family members who still believe he murdered his brother.

Roger said getting to the truth of what happened to Justin and helping Zac overturn his conviction are connected. He sees it as a fight for both of his sons, and Roger thinks Justin would be proud.

“The pain we’ve endured has been the fuel that has driven us to do what we’ve done,” he said.

The men say their relationships with hunting and guns changed over the years. Roger said he was a different person when he hunted with a local club, with his boys and since Justin’s death. He has a gun at home to shoot the occasional armadillo in his yard, but he has to keep it locked when his son is around. Zac would like to legally own a gun to be able to hunt. 

This isn’t the first time Roger and Zac have shared their family’s story. It doesn’t get easier to talk about Justin’s death and Zac’s incarceration, but the men said they do it to help others.

For Roger, he wants people to be aware that there are still Remington triggers out there in the world and to help keep other families safe.

Zac said through his story, he can share the goodness and love of the Lord. He was facing a life sentence at the age of 15, and by the grace of God, he was able to find redemption.

“I came to understand how much this event forged me,” he said.

Zac said working on the Audible memoir was a labor of love, which is why he’s seeking peace and a break from retelling the story again.

Roger said his son is now getting a chance to grow up because he didn’t get to while in prison. They talk about everything and are growing closer, even as Roger sees Zac becoming more independent and self-sufficient.

After having mental health struggles, Zac got on a better path that included a college education, spiritual support and psychological support.

He was the first convicted felon to be admitted to William Carey University in Hattiesburg, where he graduated last year with a major in history and minor in biology.

Zac is now working in the information technology field, which he found while attending his university. He wants to get certified in IT and maybe pursue a master’s degree. 

In the future, Zac looks forward to owning his own home, having his own family and potentially moving out of state.

Roger’s plan is to work for a couple more years building power lines and then retire, but he plans to seek another job or find a way to stay busy.

Roger Stringer poses for a portrait outside of his home in Columbia, Miss., Friday, July 7, 2023. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

At home, he enjoys gardening and has been able to grow sweet corn and tomatoes in the backyard and sunflowers in a field that leads up to his house. 

The field of sunflowers attracts doves and has been the site of fall dove hunts by family and friends. Roger said the field was Justin’s idea and he first planted sunflowers the year his son died. He has continued to do it each year in Justin’s memory.

In the mornings, he enjoys going to the field with a cup of coffee and watching the birds.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday

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mississippitoday.org – @alxrzr – 2025-04-25 16:04:00

Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.

A truck sits in high water after the owner parked, then boated to his residence on Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg as a rising Mississippi River causes backwater flooding, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”

The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.

A rising Mississippi River causing backwater flooding near Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.
Old tires aligned a backyard as a deterrent to rising water north of Vicksburg along U.S. 61, Friday, April 25, 2025.
As the Mississippi River rises, backwater flooding creeps towards a home located on Falk Steel Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”

The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Flood waters along Kings Point Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.

“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”

NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.

The boat launch area is closed and shored up on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The boat launch area (right) is closed and under water on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
City of Vicksburg workers shore up the bank along Levee Street as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The old pedestrian bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mississippi Today

With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-25 15:07:00

Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed. 

They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them. 

Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother. 

“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.” 

Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023. 

Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board. 

The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition. 

A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities. 

Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board. 

In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties. 

The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more. 

From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths. 

“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said. 

Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.

A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents. 

Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed. 

In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.

Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records. 

Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson. 

Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.  

He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media. 

Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary. 

Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents. 

At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.

“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Court to rule on DeSoto County Senate districts with special elections looming

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-25 15:06:00

A federal three-judge panel will rule in coming days on how political power in northwest Mississippi will be allocated in the state Senate and whether any incumbents in the DeSoto County area might have to campaign against each other in November special elections.  

The panel, comprised of all George W. Bush-appointed judges, ordered state officials last week to, again, craft a new Senate map for the area in the suburbs of Memphis. The panel has held that none of the state’s prior maps gave Black voters a realistic chance to elect candidates of their choice. 

The latest map proposed by the all-Republican State Board of Election Commissioners tweaked only four Senate districts in northwest Mississippi and does not pit any incumbent senators against each other. 

The state’s proposal would keep the Senate districts currently held by Sen. Michael McLendon, a Republican from Hernando and Sen. Kevin Blackwell, a Republican from Southaven, in majority-white districts. 

But it makes Sen. David Parker’s district a slightly majority-Black district. Parker, a white Republican from Olive Branch, would run in a district with a 50.1% black voting-age population, according to court documents. 

The proposal also maintains the district held by Sen. Reginald Jackson, a Democrat from Marks, as a majority-Black district, although it reduces the Black voting age population from 61% to 53%.  

Gov. Tate Reeves, Secretary of State Michael Watson, and Attorney General Lynn Fitch comprise the State Board of Election Commissioners. Reeves and Watson voted to approve the plan. But Watson, according to meeting documents, expressed a wish that the state had more time to consider different proposals. 

Fitch did not attend the meeting, but Deputy Attorney General Whitney Lipscomb attended in her place. Lipscomb voted against the map, although it is unclear why. Fitch’s office declined to comment on why she voted against the map because it involves pending litigation. 

The reason for redrawing the districts is that the state chapter of the NAACP and Black voters in the state sued Mississippi officials for drawing legislative districts in a way that dilutes Black voting power. 

The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU, are likely to object to the state’s newest proposal, and they have until April 29 to file an objection with the court

The plaintiffs have put forward two alternative proposals for the area in the event the judges rule against the state’s plans. 

The first option would place McLendon and Blackwell in the same district, and the other would place McLendon and Jackson in the same district. 

It is unclear when the panel of judges will issue a ruling on the state’s plan, but they will not issue a ruling until the plaintiffs file their remaining court documents next week. 

While the November election is roughly six months away, changing legislative districts across counties and precincts is technical work, and local election officials need time to prepare for the races. 

The judges have not yet ruled on the full elections calendar, but U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Southwick said at a hearing earlier this month that the panel was committed have the elections in November. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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