On the evening of February 28, 2013, Courtney Jackson, a 26-year-old Black / African American male, was at the Dudley Square MBTA bus station in Boston. At approximately 9:50 p.m., he was involved in a verbal altercation with two men, Jamel Bannister and Brian Cooper. As Jackson turned to board a bus, he was shot twice in the back. He stumbled onto the crowded bus and collapsed. Jackson was rushed to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
At the time of his death, he was an expectant father.
Two Boston police officers who were working a detail nearby heard the gunshots and saw two men fleeing the scene. They pursued the individuals and quickly apprehended them. The suspects were identified as 22-year-old Jamel Bannister and 25-year-old Brian Cooper. Investigators determined that the shooting was not a random act and that Jackson was targeted. Surveillance footage from the station captured the entire incident, showing Cooper firing the shots while Bannister stood nearby, also armed. While fleeing, Bannister was seen throwing a. 45 semiautomatic firearm over a fence.
Both Bannister and Cooper were charged with murder and firearms offenses. Authorities stated the murder was the result of a long-running feud between rival gangs. Brian Cooper, the man who fired the shots that killed Jackson, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Jamel Bannister was convicted of second-degree murder by a jury. Both men were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
