Indiana mother killed while protecting son from 18-year-old gunman during Facebook Marketplace robbery

An Indiana mom was killed after shielding her son during a Facebook Marketplace deal that turned into a violent robbery.

40-year-old Jean Gragg and her teenage son were selling a watch to a prospective buyer, identified as 18-year-old John Ford, on the front porch of their home in Edison Park near the University of Notre Dame on June 10. The meeting has been arranged by her son through Facebook Marketplace and was scheduled for just before 10 pm.

When they met up, Ford allegedly pulled a handgun while inspecting the watch. Gragg then stepped between the suspect and her son, reportedly pushing the gunman away from the property. Ford then fired multiple shots as Gragg was walking up her driveway toward her home. She was struck in the head and collapsed at the scene.

Gragg was taken to a hospital in critical condition and was later declared brain dead. On June 13, she was removed from life support.

“When Jean stepped in to support her son, the man went over the edge,” a family friend wrote in their GoFundMe, according to the New York Post.

In an online obituary, her family said she was a “dedicated, wonderful mother, very loving and caring, always putting her son first down to her very last breath. (He) was her whole world.”

Following the shooting, Ford was located at an apartment complex just two miles away, where police found the suspected gun left over a fence at the apartment complex. Ford reportedly admitted to shooting at Gragg during an interview. He has since been charged with murder, attempted murder, and robbery in the shooting. He is being held without bond.