Dwan Wakefield, DeAllen Washington, and Byron McBride have been arrested in the shooting death of the 6-year-old. Therese Apel/ The Clarion-Ledger

Ebony Archie collapsed after learning her child had been killed. Unable to stand, a family member carried her down a flight of stairs at the district attorney’s office in downtown Jackson.

In between screams and sobs, Archie cried out, “I told y’all that s—t wasn’t right, I told y’all.”

The body of her 6-year-old son, Kingston Frazier, was shot to death in the backseat of his mother’s car, abandoned on a dead-end road in Madison County. The car was 15 miles from the Kroger parking lot in Jackson where it was stolen early Thursday morning with Frazier asleep in the backseat.

Hinds County Sheriff Victor Mason told media that a deputy stationed at Kroger on I-55 saw Archie exit the grocery store at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday. Archie approached the deputy and said that her car was missing, and authorities began an auto theft investigation, he said.

It was not until later, Mason said, that Archie told authorities that her son was in the car.

“When we found out later that there was a child in the back, we immediately notified the highway patrol (who) put out an Amber Alert,” Mason said at an evening press conference.

It is unclear how long it took Archie to tell law enforcement that her son was in the car or how long after that the Amber Alert was issued. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety sent the Amber Alert at 4:30 a.m.

Three suspects are in police custody. Madison-Rankin District Attorney Michael Guest said he planned to file capital murder charges against each of the three. 

Dwan Diondro Wakefield, 17, of Ridgeland, was taken into custody by the Madison Sheriff’s Department Thursday morning. Wakefield, a senior at Ridgeland High School, was the starting quarterback on the school’s football team, according to Superintendent Ronnie McGehee. He was dismissed from the team last year, McGehee said.

DeAllen Washington, 17, turned himself in to the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department Thursday afternoon.

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Bryon McBride Jr. was taken into custody and transported to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department by the U.S. Marshals late Thursday.

At 9:47 a.m., approximately seven hours after Frazier was taken, the Amber Alert for Frazier was canceled. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation confirmed the car had been found, but authorities did not immediately release if he was dead or alive.

Family members gathered at the Kroger parking lot began praising God and pointed to the Facebook page of Frazier’s father as proof the child was alive.

The father had posted that Frazier was found alive in Greenwood, Mississippi, two hours north of Jackson.

Less than 30 minutes later, police called Frazier’s uncle, David Archie, and asked him to meet them at the district attorney’s office downtown.

When family arrived, Ebony Archie was on the building’s second floor speaking with law enforcement. The mood was still one of optimism, with Frazier’s grandfather, Walter Williams, saying, “We believe he’s alright. It’s going to be OK.”

As the minutes went by with no update on Frazier’s condition, a crying Williams yelled out, “Someone said the child is safe. Is it too much to ask to know if he’s safe?”

In an instant, the mood changed. One by one, family members began hearing that the boy was dead.

A scream rang out. And another. And another.

“Oh God, my baby.”

“Why, God, why?”

Frazier’s grandmother, Ruby Archie, doubled over and sank to the ground.

David Archie’s phone rang and his face fell. He screamed out, “It don’t look good.”

Ebony Archie’s friends rushed the locked office door, desperately trying to reach their friend.

“She needs us,” they screamed, banging on the door.

Authorities let her cousin, Martin Archie, inside. He emerged moments later, Ebony Archie limp in his arms. Barefoot and crying, her words were inaudible.

While carrying her to the car, a family member asked about Frazier’s body. Suddenly alert, Ebony Archie asked, “Kingston? Where is Kingston?” Her family members tried to get her to stand, to no avail. She collapsed again. Martin Archie and another family member carried her to a waiting truck, laying her in the backseat.

As the truck drove away, those left behind sank into each other’s arms. For a moment, the street was silent.

A man sat on the curb, his head in his hands. Law enforcement on scene wiped away tears.

Walter Williams was led away, shaking with sobs.

Grief then gave way to anger.

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Frazier’s father showed up, shirtless, yelling at the police. Family members calmed him down and pulled him away.

Velma Eddington, Frazier’s great-aunt, said the family appreciated the outpouring of support but said the child’s death was the result of evil.

“Everyone that was praying for us, that we would find Kingston alive, we want to thank everybody for that, but this is, really, this is, it’s hard to know that people out there are evil, that would kill a child. That’s evil,” Eddington said. “That baby hadn’t done anything to him. That baby hadn’t done nothing. They could have left that child on that backseat, asleep. They didn’t have to kill him. Those people are evil. Evil. They need to find that other one before we find him…it’s evil what they did.”

Remembering the boy, David Archie said, “Kingston was all outgoing. He didn’t want to be serious about anything.”

“He just liked to have a lot of fun. He was dedicated to his uncles, to his aunties and anytime he saw any of them he would take off running to them, no matter where. If he was at my house or one of the other uncle’s or aunt’s house, he doesn’t want to go home with mom because he knows that we’re going to baby him and we’re going to have fun.

“Since the day he was able to talk he was like that. Just a great, great, 6-year-old who we just can’t imagine that something like this would happen, that people would have in their heart to do that to a 6-year-old. Even if I was mad at the world, I couldn’t do this to a 6-year-old. To me, it’s hatred. There is nothing out there worth taking a 6-year-old’s life,” he said.

David Archie said the family was committed to helping police find those responsible for Frazier’s death.

“I can tell you this, we won’t rest until they’re brought to justice,” he said. “You can believe that.”

Original story and updates

4:14 p.m. update: The third suspect has been identified as Byron McBride, Jr. He is currently in the custody of the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. He was brought in by the U.S. Marshals. 

4:07 p.m. update: A third suspect is in custody. Their identity is currently unknown. 

2:42 p.m. update:

The second person of interest, DeAllen Washington, is in custody, according to law enforcement.

12:18 p.m. update:

After hearing that Kingston had been killed, family and friends reacted to the news. 

Remembering Kingston, his uncle, David Archie said, “Kington was all outgoing…He didn’t want to be serious about anything.”

“He just liked to have a lot of fun. He was dedicated to his uncles, to his aunties and anytime he saw any of them he would take off running to them, no matter where. If he was at my house or one of the other uncle’s or aunt’s house, he doesn’t want to go home with mom because he knows that we’re going to baby him and we’re going to have fun. Since the day he was able to talk he was like that. Just a great, great, 6-year-old who we just can’t imagine that something like this would happen, that people would have in their heart to do that to a 6-year-old. Even if I was mad at the world, I couldn’t do this to a 6-year-old…to me, it’s hatred. There is nothing out there worth taking a 6-year-old’s life.”

HIs great aunt, Velma Eddington, said the family appreciated the outpouring of support but said the child’s death was the result of “evil.”

“Everyone that was praying for us, that we would find Kingston alive, we want to thank everybody for that, but this is, really, this is, it’s hard to know that people out there are evil, that would kill a child,” she said. “That’s evil. That baby hadn’t done anything to him. That baby hadn’t done nothing. They could have left that child on that backseat, asleep. They didn’t have to kill him. Those people are evil. Evil. They need to find that other one before we find him…it’s evil what they did.”

David Archie said the family was committed to helping police find those responsible for Kington’s death. 

“I can tell you this, we won’t rest until they’re brought to justice,” he said. “You can believe that.”