A Picayune man was arrested and charged Oct. 5 with capital murder in the shooting death of University of Mississippi track athlete Rodney Lockhart. According to a report in the Clarion- Ledger, Lockhart, a junior psychology major, was found shot to death Sept. 29 at his apartment near the UM campus.
In the report, Oxford Police Chief Mike Martin said the suspect, Christian Bonner, was being retained without bond at the Lafayette County Detention Center. Bonner, 20, was arrested during a traffic stop at 12:37 p.m. last Friday in Oxford.
Martin declined to give a motive in the shooting case, but said Bonner knew the victim, according to the report. Martin would not say if more arrests were expected.
Jeffrey Alford, associate vice chancellor for university relations at Ole Miss, said along with the Oxford Police Department, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is working on the case.
Bonner never applied for admission at UM, he said.
Larry Ridgeway, interim vice chancellor of student life at UM, said the shooting was a total shock. Lockhart was well-known and well-liked on campus, he said.
“Even though we live in a small town, we encourage students to take responsibility for their own personal safety,” Ridgeway said.
Jaime Weaver, a junior marketing communications major at UM, said the event was an eye-opener.
“Everyone at the university and community felt that this is a safe place and that nothing like this could happen here,” she said. “It is a tragic event for someone with such great potential both in athletics and academics to have this happen to them.”
Funeral services for the Vaiden native were held Saturday in the gym of J.A. George High School in Carollton, where he was a student and athlete, according to the Clarion-Ledger report.
Alford said a memorial service has been held for Lockhart in his hometown. The track team and other student organizations plan to conduct fundraisers to establish a scholarship in the slain athlete’s memory.
In Mississippi, a person can be charged with capital murder if authorities believe another felony was committed along with a killing. Martin refused to reveal the other felony Bonner may have committed in this case.