4 Arrests Made In Mississippi Shooting That Left 6 Dead
It was a tragic weekend for Mississippi as several towns experienced shooting incidents during what was supposed to be a celebratory homecoming. The Leland High School shooting was the deadliest, leaving six people dead and over a dozen injured. The FBI announced on Monday evening that it arrested four people in connection with the Leland High School shooting.
According to AP, Teviyon L. Powell, 29, William Bryant, 29, and Morgan Lattimore, 25, were arrested on charges of capital murder. The fourth, Latoya Powell, 44, was arrested on charges of attempted murder. The Leland High School shooting took place last Friday evening after the school football team played its homecoming game. Leland is a relatively small town with a weak economy, so homecoming weekend holds a bit more significance for the community, as many people who have moved away to find jobs return to celebrate.
The FBI hasn’t released a motive for the shooting, only saying that the shooting was “sparked by a disagreement among several individuals.” The arrests came a day after the FBI asked the public for leads on identifying the shooters, and it’s unclear how they found the suspected shooters. The shooting left four people dead on the scene, with the other two dying later while in the hospital.
While the Leland High School shooting was the deadliest to occur in Mississippi over the weekend, it was not the only one. That same Friday night, there was a shooting at Heidelberg High School that injured one person and killed two others, including a pregnant mother. Another shooting occurred at South Delta High School that left one person injured. Two arrests were made in the South Delta High School shooting, and an 18-year-old man was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and one count of illegally having a gun on campus.
On Saturday, a shooting occurred after the Alcorn State University homecoming game that killed one person and left another injured. A child was wounded during a shooting after Jackson State University’s homecoming game on Saturday.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, the Mississippi shootings push the number of mass shootings in America this year to nearly 340. The series of Mississippi shootings has renewed criticism of the state’s incredibly lax gun laws. Mississippi is one of 29 states where a permit is not required to carry a concealed firearm. The state also doesn’t require background checks to purchase a gun. Data from both Johns Hopkins University and Everytown Research & Policy have found that Mississippi’s weak gun laws have resulted in the state leading the nation in gun violence. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that Mississippi led the nation in gun deaths in 2023.
A report from Everytown earlier this year labeled Mississippi a “national failure” due to its lack of foundational gun laws and high rate of gun violence. “Mississippi has among the weakest gun laws in the country,” the report states. “The state has none of the foundational gun laws in place, and only a few policies total, having most recently repealed the requirement to get a permit before carrying a concealed handgun in public. It also has one of the highest rates of gun deaths in the country. Mississippi is also among the top states in household firearm ownership.”
The Leland High School shooting was a tragedy that could’ve potentially been avoided if the state had even an inkling of common-sense gun laws.
SEE ALSO:
FBI Seeks Tips In Mississippi Mass Shooting That Left 6 Dead
Alabama AG, Montgomery Mayor At Odds Over Mass Shooting
4 Arrests Made In Mississippi Shooting That Left 6 Dead was originally published on newsone.com
