Officials in Leland, Mississippi, are calling on the public’s help after four people were killed and 12 others wounded in a mass shooting that broke out at a gathering in the small town’s downtown area Friday night.
Leland Mayor John Lee, speaking at a Saturday evening news conference, said the city was experiencing a “great loss” and asked for prayers.
On Friday, state Sen. Derrick Simmons told Jackson ABC affiliate WAPT the people were at a gathering following the Leland High School homecoming game when the shooting happened.
Aside from providing the number of dead and wounded, the mayor did not provide many other details about the shooting.
“Everything else is under investigation,” he said during Saturday’s news conference. “We don’t have any information as far as who did the shooting or any of that. But we are here to get to the bottom of this.”
Robert Eickhoff, special agent in charge of the Jackson, Mississippi, FBI Field Office, did not provide specifics but said multiple times that authorities were searching for “subjects” in connection with the shooting.
“People who were enjoying themselves last found themselves faced with violence that no community should be faced with,” Eickhoff said, urging members of the public to come forward with any information they may have.
“You may have seen something,” he said. “You may have heard something or know someone who did.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also assisting in the investigation, providing DNA analysis and also working to potentially match shell casings to other firearms using a national automated system.
“This could have easily been in another city just like it was here in Leland, Mississippi,” Lee, the mayor, said.
The city of about 3,600 people is located about 115 miles north of Jackson.
String of other shootings in Mississippi
The update on Friday night’s shooting came amid a string of shootings throughout the state this weekend.
On Saturday, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating a shooting at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, that left one person dead and two others wounded.
The shooting led to a shelter-in place order being issued for the campus.
Authorities said the shooting occurred at about 6:30 p.m. local time near the campus’ Industrial Technology Building. No arrest had been made.
About a half hour later, authorities in Jackson said a child was shot in the abdomen near a tailgate section at Jackson State University stadium. The child was taken to the hospital. There is no update on their condition.
On Friday evening, two people were killed in a shooting in Heidelberg, Mississippi, on the grounds of a high school, according to ABC affiliate WDAM.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office later said it had taken an 18-year-old man into custody for questioning in connection with the shooting.
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