A pregnant woman was among six people killed when tragedy struck at a Mississippi homecoming celebration.
The celebration turned tumultuous as two distinct shootings erupted following a high school football homecoming game in the Mississippi Delta area.
“Everyone was gathered in the heart of Leland, enjoying themselves,” explained state Sen. Derrick Simmons regarding the small town, home to fewer than 4,000 residents.
‘It´s just senseless gun violence,’ he said. ‘What we are experiencing now is just a proliferation of guns just being in circulation.’
About 20 people were injured in the gunfire after people gathered in the downtown area following the game.
Among the 20 individuals injured, four were in a critical state and were airlifted from a hospital in neighboring Greenville to a larger medical facility in Jackson, the state capital, according to Simmons.
The crime scene is not far from City Hall, where family members gathered to seek answers. The media was not allowed inside.
Six people were killed and 20 injured after a Mississippi homecoming celebration ended in gunfire
Violence broke out on the city of Leland’s main street at around midnight on Saturday
Families of the victims ushered into Leland City Hall Saturday for a meeting with authorities
No arrests have been announced, and Simmons said late Saturday morning that he had not heard any information about possible suspects.
Camish Hopkins, a witness, recounted seeing people injured and bleeding from different parts of their bodies, with four individuals lying lifeless on the ground.
‘It was the most horrific scene I´d ever seen,’ Hopkins told The Associated Press after the meeting at City Hall.
Police shouted at people to keep behind crime-scene tape in the chaos, Hopkins added.
‘No one was trying to really help,’ Hopkins said. ‘Leland failed Leland yesterday, but I know that we can do better because this isn´t Leland.’
Simultaneously, law enforcement in the modest town of Heidelberg, located in eastern Mississippi, are conducting an investigation into a shooting during their community’s homecoming weekend, which resulted in two fatalities.
Heidelberg Police Chief Cornell White stated that both victims lost their lives on the school campus Friday night. He refrained from revealing whether the victims were students or disclosing further details about the incidents.
Leland is located on the eastern side of Mississippi, over 100 miles from Jackson
The shooting took place on the city’s main street
Citizens of the city have spoken out against gun violence since the shooting took place
‘Right now we´ve still got a subject at large, but I can´t give specifics,’ White said Saturday morning.
An 18-year-old man was being sought for questioning in the Heidelberg shooting, the Jasper County Sheriff´s Office said in a statement. The sheriff asked that anyone with information contact the police chief or sheriff´s office.
The shooting in Heidelberg happened on the school campus where the Heidelberg Oilers were playing their homecoming football game Friday night. The town of about 640 residents is about 85 miles (137 kilometers) southeast of the state capital of Jackson.
It wasn´t clear exactly when the gunfire occurred or how close it was to the stadium. White said he was at the scene Saturday investigating, and that more information might be released in coming days.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is helping local and federal law enforcement agencies in investigating, the governor said.
‘Our state is praying for the victims and their families, as well as the entire Heidelberg and Leland communities,’ Reeves said in a social media post. “Those responsible will be brought to justice.’
In Sharkey County, Mississippi, also in the Mississippi Delta region, the local sheriff was investigating yet another shooting after a high school football game in the area, authorities said.
Two people have been arrested in that shooting, which happened at a local school after its game Friday night, Sharkey County Sheriff Herbert Ceaser Sr. said in a statement.
The statement did not include any information on possible injuries, but said: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim´s family during this incredibly difficult time.’
The sheriff couldn’t immediately be reached for more information on Saturday.
