National and international media have been contacting local law enforcement officials concerning the Tuesday night shooting of a 6-year-old child by Marksville City/Ward 2 Marshal's Office officers.

  Wendol Lee, president of the national Operation Help Civil Rights Group, said the organization has been contacted by numerous individuals in Marksville asking for the group's assistance in the shooting death of Jeremy Mardis and the wounding of his father, Chris Few. He said he and other members of Operation Help will hold a public gathering at the intersection of Martin Luther King and Taensas, where the shooting took place, at 3:30 p.m. Friday. 

   "I am asking that anyone with any information on this matter please come to this gathering and share that with us," Lee said. 

   Lee said Operation Help has over 1 million members and 72 chapters nationwide.

   The officers involved in the shooting were off-duty Marksville City Police officers who had finished their shift for the city and were  working for the Ward 2/City Marshal's Office when the shooting occurred. An unconfirmed report is that the officers fired 21 shots into the vehicle, killing the child and critically wounding Few.

   Law enforcement agencies have reported broadcast media such as CNN, Fox and other national networks have been seeking information. Local and state newspapers as well as the Associated Press and international Reuters News have also called. It is likely that reporters from these companies may visit the area to cover the story.