Neighbors react to homicide of 3-year-old boy



MOUNT PLEASANT (WITI) -- Neighbors in the quiet town of Mount Pleasant were shocked to learn of the homicide of a 3-year-old boy on their block Friday, May 10th.

Authorities arrested the boyfriend of the victim's mother, 26-year-old Marcus Johnson, on Friday evening. The child has been identified as Hunter Wise.

"It's just a sad, unfortunate thing that happened over there," said neighbor Kevin Kolecheck.

Kolecheck and others are still trying to comprehend what happened in their neighborhood.

"It's a shock," said another neighbor, William Beckett.

Beckett has lived on the block for 59 years. He said he witnessed paramedics loading what appeared to be a small child into an ambulance on Friday morning.

"The rescue squad took him, I didn't really get to see him," recalled Beckett.

Kolecheck said he never thought a home just a few yards away from his would ever be the site of a homicide investigation.

"I never heard any commotion over here and I've never seen anything suspicious over there," said Kolecheck.

Police say the cause of Wise's death has not yet been determined.

Marcus Johnson is in custody on charges of first degree intentional homicide. Court records show Johnson was convicted in 2010 of marijuana possession and bail jumping.

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