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Four people have been killed and more than a dozen injured in a mass shooting during a high school football homecoming game in Mississippi, state officials said.
According to Mississippi State Senator Derrick Simmons, the shooting occurred in the downtown area of the small town of Leland, where people had gathered after the game.
Officials said the attackers had not been identified and were at large as of Saturday morning.
The deceased, along with four other victims, were taken to a hospital in Greenville and then to a larger hospital in Jackson, the state capital, Simmons said. The Associated Press.
The shooting occurred on the school campus where the Heidelberg Oilers were playing their homecoming football game Friday night, though it was unclear when the shooting occurred or how close it was to the stadium.
Simmons said the scene had become “very chaotic” and that police, sheriff’s deputies and ambulances “responded from all sides.”
“This is just senseless gun violence,” he said. “What we’re experiencing now is just a proliferation of guns coming into circulation.” Although not much information is available, law enforcement is investigating, he said.
“They are working at the grassroots level and I am confident that they will get to the bottom of this,” he said.
“As the area’s state senator, we are asking all individuals who may have any information regarding the fatal shooting that occurred last night to come forward and provide it,” he said.
talking to fox news digital, Leland Mayor John Lee said, “Our prayers and condolences go out to the families of the deceased and those who were injured and shot.”
“Of course, it was homecoming weekend, and everyone had family and friends and neighbors [were] Just hanging out downtown, like we do every year.”
“Justice will be served,” he said.
Leland, about 85 miles southeast of the state capital, Jackson, has a population of only about 4,000.