May

    A man has been charged with murder in the Monday shooting death of his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, authorities said.

     The shooting occurred at about 12:50 p.m. in the parking lot of Calvary Christian School at 3917 Seventh St., according to Meridian Police Department Detective Dareall Thompson.

    Joseph Lee May, 47, was arrested and charged with murder and using a deadly weapon on educational property, Thompson said.         May, who allegedly confessed to the shooting, remained in custody at the Lauderdale County Detention Center Monday night on bonds totalling $275,000.

    Thompson said May was working at the school when his ex- girlfriend came by to drop off their children. He said there was an altercation, and May, who is the father of the children, shot the girlfriend’s current boyfriend, killing him. Police believe the shooting stemmed from an ongoing feud between the men.

    “From my understanding, it’s been going on back and forth between the ex-boyfriend and new boyfriend for a while,” Thompson said.

    The victim’s identity had not been released at press time Monday night. Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler said he was still trying to notify family members.

    No students were at the school, which was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said.     Thompson said the handgun allegedly used in the shooting was recovered.

    A Lauderdale County deputy sheriff was the first on scene, and was able to take May into custody until officers from the Meridian Police Department arrived, Thompson said.

    Dr. David Sellers, the interim pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, which runs the school, said he witnessed the shooting when he stopped by to pick up a turkey he had bought from the youth at the church.

    Sellers said he was sitting in his car when he heard four or five gunshots, then saw one man chasing the other through the parking lot. He said he saw the shooter shoot the victim, then kick him in the head once he was down.

    “I thought they were practicing something at the school, like going through the motions,” Sellers said. “But when he kicked him in the head, I knew it was real and called the police.”

    Sellers, who has been with the church for about a year, said May was not a school employee, but was working on the floors with a crew inside the building.

    “The school had no connection whatsoever to this situation,” Sellers emphasized. “They had just hired some people to work on the floors. It could have happened at any school in Meridian, or any school out in the county. It happens all over the country; it happens everywhere. Anything that happens in New York City can happen right here in Meridian. I just happened to be there in the parking lot of the church when it took place.”

    “Law enforcement did a good job – the police department got there quickly,” Sellers, a former police chaplain, said.

    The shooting remains under investigation, police said.