Vicksburg dad was shot in Jackson, needs your help

Richard Froelicher is a self-employed home inspector working outside a home in Jackson, taking photos of a house, when he saw a young man approach him.

According to a news report, “I was taking a picture of a house when I saw a young man walking down the street, and then I saw him turn around. At that point, I was walking toward my car, and that’s when he approached me,” Froelicher said. The young man, 24-year-old Steven Jones, ordered Froelicher into his car. Froelicher refused, and Jones shot him in the stomach. “Then, after he shot me, I fell to the ground, and he said he was going to shoot me again. I said, “Just take the car. Don’t shoot me; I have a family.”

Froelicher called 911 who rushed him to the hospital where he underwent a 4-hour surgery.

Jones was arrested a few days later after police said he “Terrorized South Jackson” by forcing people at gunpoint into the trunks of their cars and taking them to area ATMs.

As a result of his gunshot wound and surgery, Froelicher has been unable to work and provide for his family. “I’m self-employed, so I don’t get paid unless I’m working, and I’ll probably be off at least eight weeks; with a fractured pelvis, my job requires me to walk quite a lot, so I’m going to be off at least eight weeks,” Froelicher said.

Froelicher’s two boys still live in Vicksburg with their mother, and his daughter is buried here. “My ex and I are best friends. We only got divorced after our daughter died, and we just couldn’t deal with it anymore. We co-parent very well,” said the mother of the boys and daughter Kimberly Boswell. Both Boswell and Froelicher have remarried. “He lived here with me & our children until we divorced during Covid.”

Froelicher was in town over the weekend to celebrate a birthday with one of his boys. His ex-wife reached out to the Vicksburg Daily News to ask for the community’s support.

The family is used to taking care of themselves and never thought they’d be in this position, but if you can help even just a little bit, a GoFundMe has been set up.