A Barre St Joseph mother is opening up for the first time about the devastating loss of her 24-year-old son, Mitchel Jean, who was killed in a fatal shooting that remains under active investigation by local law enforcement. For Christina Jean, the pain of her sudden loss is still raw, and she says she has yet to find clear answers about the chain of events that ended her son’s life far too soon.
“I don’t know what really happened. All I know is that somebody killed my son, but I don’t know what happened,” Jean shared in an emotional interview with reporters, describing the confusion and heartache that has consumed her in the weeks since the shooting.
Jean and her son shared an extraordinarily close bond. He made a point to visit his mother every single day, and never hinted that he was facing conflict or danger from any person. “My son was everything to me. Every day he used to come here and visit me. We used to talk together, chat, you know. But he never told me he was in problem with anybody, nobody at all,” Jean said.
She recalled her final conversation with her son, which took place on the morning of his death. Jean says he only mentioned that he felt uncharacteristically off, telling her “he wasn’t feeling well because his spirit wasn’t there that day. That’s the only thing he told me.”
The entire family has been shattered by Mitchel’s death, with grief disrupting every part of their daily lives. “We cannot deal with it. At night, I cannot sleep. I have to be crying, crying, crying. Every day crying. My children crying, my grandchildren crying, the father crying,” Jean said.
She also described the chaotic, heart-wrenching moment she learned of the shooting. When family first contacted her with the news, they downplayed the severity of her son’s injury to soften the blow, telling her he had only been shot in the leg and was stable, urging her to come to the hospital. Jean arrived at the medical facility before the ambulance transporting her son, and waited anxiously outside for its arrival. When crew members opened the ambulance’s rear doors, she saw Mitchel and called out to him — but he never responded.
Despite overwhelming grief, Jean offered public praise for the responding law enforcement agency, saying investigators have communicated consistently and worked diligently to move the case forward. “I find the police doing a good job. From the time that happened, they have been going up and down, talking to us, calling us on the phone,” she noted.
Now, as the family holds onto only memories and is left with far more questions than answers, Jean is issuing a heartfelt plea to end the cycle of violence that has stolen so many young lives across communities. “All those children need to stop. They need to stop. I was so in love with that little boy, and today I miss him. I miss him every day.”
The case has been taken over by the department’s Major Crimes Unit, which is leading the ongoing investigation into the shooting. Law enforcement officials are asking any member of the public who may have information that could help investigators piece together what happened to contact the Major Crimes Unit directly at 456-3754. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the area’s Crime Hotline at 555, or via the official Crime Hotline mobile application.