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high school homecoming ceremony mississippi Friday night ended in a shootout with two separate shootings in opposite parts of the state, leaving at least six people dead and several others injured, officials said.
A state senator said Saturday that four of the dead died in downtown Leland after a high school football homecoming game in the Mississippi Delta region on the western edge of the state. In the eastern part of the state, the dead included a pregnant woman, Mississippi Gov. tate reeves Said.
Around 20 people injured in firing in Delta area
In Leland, about 20 people were injured in a shooting that occurred after people gathered in the downtown area after the game, state Senator Derrick Simmons said. Of the 20 people injured, four were in critical condition and were flown from a hospital in nearby Greenville to a major medical center in the state capital. jacksonSimmons told The Associated Press. They were being updated on developments from law enforcement officials in the Delta.
On Saturday, pieces of torn, yellow crime scene tape were wrapped around a pole in the city’s small downtown area. Police tape can also be seen in front of a boarded-up storefront, entangled at the base of a sign commemorating the late soul singer Tyrone Davis, who was born nearby.
The crime scene is not far from City Hall, where family members had gathered to demand answers. The media was not allowed inside.
,People “We were gathering in downtown Leland and having a good time,” Simmons said of the town of less than 4,000.
He was told that after the shooting, the scene was “very chaotic”, as police, sheriff’s deputies and ambulances were “responding from all over.”
“This is just senseless gun violence,” he said. “What we’re experiencing now is just a proliferation of guns coming into circulation.”
No arrests have been announced and Simmons said late Saturday morning that he had not heard any information about possible suspects.
One witness, Camish Hopkins, described seeing people injured and bleeding from various parts of their bodies and four people lying dead on the ground.
“It was the most horrifying sight I had ever seen,” Hopkins told The Associated Press after the meeting at City Hall.
Hopkins said police yelled at people to leave the crime scene tape behind amid the chaos.
“Nobody was really trying to help,” Hopkins said. “Leland failed Leland yesterday, but I know we can do better because it’s not Leland.”
2 killed in a separate shooting in eastern Mississippi
Meanwhile, police in a small town in Mississippi heidelberg An investigation is underway into a shooting that left two people dead during a community homecoming weekend in the eastern part of the state.
Heidelberg Police Chief Cornell White said the two were killed on the school grounds Friday night. He declined to say whether the victims were students or provide other information about the crimes.
“At this point we still have a topic at large, but I can’t give specific details,” White said Saturday morning.
An 18-year-old man is being sought for questioning in the Heidelberg shooting, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The sheriff said anyone with information should contact the police chief or sheriff’s office.
The shooting in Heidelberg occurred on a 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, Jackson.
It is unclear exactly when the shooting occurred or how close it was to the stadium. White said he was at the scene Saturday investigating and more information could be released in the coming days.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is assisting local and federal law enforcement agencies in the investigation, 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.”
Sheriff says third shooting remains under investigation
In Sharkey County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region, local sheriffs were investigating another shooting after a high school football game in the area, authorities said.
Two people have been arrested in the shooting, which happened Friday night after a game at a local school, Sharkey County Sheriff Herbert Caesar Sr. said in a statement.
The statement did not include any information about possible injuries, but said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family during this incredibly difficult time.” The sheriff could not immediately be reached for further information Saturday.