Jean Gragg, 40, is being remembered as a devoted mother after
police said she was fatally shot while stepping between her teenage son and a gunman during a Facebook Marketplace exchange that turned violent in South Bend, Indiana. Her obituary said she was "always putting her son first down to her very last breath."
Gragg died on June 13, three days after she was shot on June 10 on MacArthur Avenue in South Bend. The South Bend Police Department
said that charges against 18-year-old John Ford were upgraded after her death.
Ford is charged with murder, attempted murder, and armed robbery, and is being held at the St. Joseph County Jail. Authorities said the upgraded charges reflect Gragg’s death after she spent several days in critical condition.
"Ford, along with the firearm used in the shooting, were located at an apartment complex in South Bend," police said.
According to police, officers at the scene spoke with Gragg’s teenage son, who said he had arranged a Facebook Marketplace meeting to sell a watch and that the suspect met them at the front porch of their home.
He told investigators that the suspect pulled out a firearm while he was showing the watch and tried to take it from him. During the confrontation, Gragg stepped between her son and the suspect and forced the suspect away from the property, according to police accounts.
Police said the suspect then turned back toward the porch, raised the handgun, and opened fire, striking Gragg before fleeing the scene.
Gragg was taken to a nearby hospital, where she remained in intensive care before dying from her injuries. Police said Ford was seen in security video and later admitted in an interview with detectives that he fired the shot that struck her,
according to WNDU.
“Jean was a dedicated, wonderful mother, very loving and caring, always putting her son first down to her very last breath. Mason was her whole world,” her obituary
said.
A GoFundMe page organized by a family friend
said, “My friend Jean Elizabeth was everything you could’ve asked for in a person, plus a hilarious attitude and sassy personality. She was raising a young son on her own and a fluffy cat, both whom she adored more than anything."
In an obituary published online, Gragg is described as a South Bend native who worked for the Morris Performing Arts Center catering and bartending events, and for H&R Block as an office manager.
The obituary said she enjoyed reading, traveling, camping, and spending time with family and friends. It also said that she was a nurturer and someone who cared for others when they were sick or in need.
In one of her recent social media posts shared on June 5, Gragg
wrote: “Yes, I'm sitting here smiling, but meanwhile I'm just wondering what's going in my book.”
In late May, Gragg posted about serious complications following gallbladder surgery, writing that the surgery was much more serious than expected. She later added that she was looking forward “to a healing journey and feeling like a human again.”
Friends and family have since filled social media with tributes. Her former mother-in-law
wrote that Gragg was “the kindest, most honest, and genuine person I have ever met,” adding that she remained close to her for decades and they were supposed to have coffee together on Thursday.
Police are still investigating the shooting.
