Mother of teen shot by Fayetteville police seeks closure

It’s been nearly two years since Hunt shot and killed 16-year-old Shaqur McNair outside his Fayetteville home. Bennett said there’s still so much she misses about her son.

“Just not seeing him every day. Not hearing him say, ‘Momma, I love you,’ or cracking his jokes, or just seeing him smile,” said Bennett.

Hunt was responding to a domestic violence call and a crowd of about a dozen people had gathered. Bennett tried to stop Hunt from arresting her older son and was handcuffed. That’s when she said McNair tried to intervene.

“Shaqur said, ‘Don’t do my momma like that.’ He turned around and that’s when [Hunt] shot Shaqur. He shot him three times,” Bennett said.

One year ago, the State Bureau of Investigation cleared Hunt of any wrongdoing. Bennett has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, the police chief and Hunt.

She said that the lawsuit is about getting justice and closure.

“I didn’t get justice. My justice would have been for him to be charged. That would have been justice for me,” Bennett said.

The Fayetteville Police Department would not comment on the lawsuit, and only said that Hunt has been cleared by the District Attorney and State Bureau of Investigation and is still on duty.

There is no information about when or if the lawsuit will go to trial.