Jean "knew what he wanted," his mother said, and he didn't stop until reached his goals: From getting baptized as a child to attending Harding University, a Christian college far away from his home of St. Lucia. Botham Jean "knew what he wanted," his mother said, and he didn't stop until reached his goals: From getting baptized as a child to attending Harding University, a Christian college far away from his home island of St. Lucia. Those were just a couple of the stories Allison Jean shared at a vigil for her son on Saturday, as the investigation into his death continued. Authorities have said that off-duty Dallas police officer Amber Guyer shot Botham Jean at his apartment, mistaking the South Side Flats unit for her own on Thursday night. As of Sunday, no charges have been filed in the case, and police said the Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting. While few details have been released about Guyger, a four-year veteran of the force, we've continued to learn more about Jean, a 26-year-old who was working as an accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dallas. Here are five stories Jean's mother that tell us more about her son: 'Botham knew what he wanted' Jean was only eight when he wanted to be baptized. "His Dad said, 'No, you're too young,'" Allie Jean said. "'Do you know exactly what you're doing?'" So Botham waited another year, until he was nine, and he asked his father again. And again, his father questioned whether his son truly understood the meaning of a baptism. Jean kept waiting. About a year later, his mother said, he came back to his father "with tears in his eyes." "He said, 'Dad, I want to be baptized. I want to be a Christian,'" his mother said. "No one forced him. Botham knew what he wanted." He was baptized and became active in the church. "Botham never sat still," his mother said. "He always found work to do." 'He was a perfectionist' Jean was a perfectionist, but he took that attention to detail to the next level: He didn't merely ask his parents for permission when he had a request – he wrote up a proposal. "Mom, I have a proposal, and it's all documented," he would tell his mother, she said. Staying active in the church, Jean came to his parents when he was about 13 or 14 with a proposal to evangelize St. Lucia. His proposal included a map and with specific communities he wanted to impact first, his mother said. "He wanted to go from community to community, and he had that plan," his mother said. "Unfortunately, some of the members of my congregation knocked down the plan. They found that Botham was too enthusiastic." More than just a song leader Jean "did not want to be known as just a song leader," his mother said. When he wasn't satisfied with his congregation's singing skills, he got permission to teach the church. "He taught us how to read music," his mother said. "He sectioned the pews. He had sopranos, altos, bass and tenor. And he told each of us, each section, how they had to sing." "He would beat himself down if we didn't get it right. So when we got home, I would tell him, 'Botham, I never learned music before...how do you expect me to just come in on a Sunday night and learn to read notes? But Botham wanted the singing to be perfect." 'I must go to Harding' Jean heard about Harding University at a Caribbean lectureship. Immediately, he knew Harding was where he wanted to go to college. The problem, his mother said, was the cost – Harding is a private Christian college far from St. Lucia – and the University of the West Indies was a closer option in nearby Jamaica. But when the time came to apply to the West Indies college, Jean conveniently didn't, applying only to Harding. His mother found out about her son's plan after calling the University of West Indies. So Jean came to his mother with one of his proposals. "Let me show you why I must go to Harding," he told his mother, explaining how it would be good to be around other Christians in college. When Jean and his mother visited Harding, Botham walked around the campus "as if he had already started," his mother said. "He had this air about him," his mother said. "Botham came there and he was already infused into the campus. He was not even admitted yet." 'Your boy is a blessing' Though Jean went to college hundreds of miles away in Arkansas, he stayed loyal to his home country. Each year, he brought a team of Harding students back home to volunteer at orphanages and a school for at-risk boys and to help the sick. One woman he visited reached out to Jean's mother to thank her. "Your boy is blessed," Jean's mother said the woman told her. "Your boy is a blessing. I thank you for bringing this boy into the world." Jean's mother remembered the small moments they had together, too, like when Jean surprised her by coming home from Arkansas one Mother's Day. Jean called his mother "GG" after Governor General, the head of the government in St. Lucia. On Mother's Day one year, Jean's mother had laid for a nap after church when she heard, "GG!" "I'm saying, 'That's Botham's voice, but maybe I'm dreaming,'" she said. But it was actually her son.<doc-sep>The mother of a black man who was shot dead at his home by a white Dallas police officer who said she mistook his apartment for her own has suggested her son might still be alive if he were white. Allison Jean, the mother of 26-year-old Botham Jean, wondered if race was a factor when the officer shot and killed her son after she returned home in uniform from her shift on Thursday night. “I didn’t know she was white until now,” Jean said in footage broadcast by Dallas NBC affiliate KXAS. “If it was a white man would it have been different? Would she have reacted differently?” Authorities have said the officer is white, but have not released her name or other details about her. Dallas police chief U Renee Hall said on Saturday a warrant for manslaughter, which she said on Friday would be forthcoming, had not yet been issued because the Texas Rangers had asked her department to wait. Hall spoke during a panel discussion livestreamed on Facebook by TV station WFAA. The state investigators, she said, said they needed more time to investigate. “The ball is in their court,” Hall said. She acknowledged that many questions remain about the shooting and asked the public to give investigators enough time to get to the answers. The Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Texas Rangers, did not immediately reply to a Saturday phone message seeking comment. A police spokeswoman, Debra Webb, said she did not have further information on the case, including when the officer would be booked into jail. Allison Jean, who has held government posts in St Lucia, where she lives and where her son grew up, said her son’s death “just feels like a nightmare”. In St Lucia, government leaders said the death of Botham Jean came as a “shock” and that embassy officials in the US would provide assistance to the victim’s family. Botham Jean attended Harding University in Arkansas and after graduating in 2016 had been living and working in Dallas at the accounting and consulting firm PwC. The private school said on Friday that he often led campus worship services while he was a student.<doc-sep>
Photo : Jeff Montgomery ( Harding University ) As the circumstances surrounding Botham Shem Jean’s shooting death remain cloudy, mourners gathered yesterday to pay tribute to the 26-year-old Caribbean native who was gunned down in his own home by a uniformed Dallas police officer on Thursday night. The cop, who remains unidentified, was off-duty at the time of the shooting, and claims she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own. Mourners from Jean’s native St. Lucia to Dallas shared their grief and posted tributes to the young man, whom friends and family remember for his beautiful voice and “wonderful spirit.” As the Dallas News reports, an hour-long vigil was held for Jean outside Dallas police headquarters on Friday; an estimated 15o people were in attendance. Among them were Mothers Against Police Brutality and protesters, who held up signs imploring “Where is justice when police kill us?” “Disarm off duty police,” and “Life is not a white privilege.” Members of Dallas West Church of Christ, where Jean worshipped and was a Bible Study leader, were also in attendance. “He had a wonderful spirit, and we’ll miss him” Rena Williams, a fellow member of the church, told the Dallas news. Jean, who worked at the accounting firm PriceWaterHouseCoopers, moved to the U.S. to attend Harding University in Arkansas, where he graduated in 2016. His mother, Allison Jean, a senior official at St. Lucia’s Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, told NBC News that Jean was an excellent student in high school. The New York Times reports that Jean was a member of the “Good News Singers” at Harding. “With a booming, soulful voice, Mr. Jean often led the group in songs,” the paper writes. The University posted a tribute to Jean on its Facebook page, asking the campus community to join in praying for Jean’s friends and family, “and for all who were touched by his extraordinary life.” Jean’s uncle, Earl Jean, also posted a tribute on Facebook. “My heart goes with you my boy...how can this nasty world take you away from me,” Earl wrote, alongside pictures of him and his nephew. “Uncle loves you so much.” In conversation with NBC News, Jean’s mother said she and her son talked frequently, so she thought it was strange when he didn’t call on Thursday night. “It just still feels like a nightmare,” she said. “I wish I would wake up and find that it wasn’t true.” Allison Jean, who, according to the Times, is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment, also mentioned that the circumstances of her son’s death made no sense to her—a sentiment shared by many. Speaking to NBC about the cop who killed her son, Allison Jean said, “I need to look into her eyes and ask her why she did that to my son. She took away my heart, she took away my soul, she took away everything.” “[He] was in no wrong place at any wrong time. He was in his sanctuary, in the place where he called home. He didn’t deserve this.” According to the Times, the officer who shot Jean is not in custody. Dallas Police are reportedly seeking a manslaughter charge against the officer.