Holmes County shooting in Mississippi leaves 3 dead, 8 injured after homecoming party along trail leads to fatal fallout. Fatal victims id as Shundra Chestnut, 19, of Kosciusko, John Jenkins, 19, of Durant and Martel Gibson, 25, of Durant. No suspect(s) identified.
Three people were killed and eight others were injured when someone opened gunfire into a group of people on a trail celebrating a school’s homecoming football game in a mass shooting in Holmes County, Mississippi.
Notice of the calamity came after the Holmes County Sheriff’s Department received a phone call about a shooting on Highway 17 around 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
The shooting took place after a homecoming celebration hosted by Holmes County Consolidated School, which had attracted a large crowd.
BREAKING OVERNIGHT:
Three people were killed and eight were injured in Holmes County, Mississippi, early Saturday when at least two people opened fire into a group of several hundred celebrating a school’s homecoming football win at an outdoor trail after the game ended,… pic.twitter.com/dfoaHMdnEn— News Of The Globe (@NewsOfEarthTr) October 19, 2024
Police said there had been a homecoming game Friday night and about 3-4 hours later a large group of young people, of up to 200-300 people decided to have a party along the trail ride.
Trail rides are popular community events, often marked by camaraderie and celebration, but on this night, the joyous atmosphere took a dark turn.
Matters soon escalated when a group at the party got into a fight and pulled out guns, WLBT reported.
Shots were then fired and three people were killed along with a further eight injured, according to Sheriff Willie March.
March identified the three victims as 19-year-old Shundra Chestnut of Kosciusko, 19-year-old John Jenkins of Durant and 25-year-old Martel Gibson of Durant.
Eight other victims are in various hospitals for injuries from the incident, the Clarion Ledger reported.
March said that some of the injured victims had to be airlifted to a hospital, while others were transported by ambulances.
‘It was chaos, to tell you the truth,’ March said. ‘The shooting just started and people started running.’
‘The football team had won the homecoming game and people wanted to go out and celebrate the win, but others didn’t have that same intention,’ March said, noting there were no incidents at the game.
March said unfortunately, it is common for shootings in the area to occur due to people having disputes and not knowing how to resolve them outside of the use of gun fire.
Modified weapon thought to have been used to fire rapidly
Initial investigations suggest that the shooter may have used a modified firearm equipped with an illegal device, commonly known as a ‘switch,’ that converts a semi-automatic weapon into one capable of firing rapidly, similar to a machine gun, WAPT reported.
Deputies were collecting ammunition at the scene in an effort to determine how many weapons were fired, WJTV reported.
Authorities are still searching for the suspect(s) in connection with incident. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is helping with the case.
‘We need the community’s help to solve this case,’ March said.
‘It’s hard to see what they are fighting over. I don’t think they are fighting over turf or drugs,’ March said according to CBS News. ‘These are young men walking around with weapons. I wish I had an answer.’
To date the identity of the shooter(s) remained unknown.
Law enforcement is asking anyone with information to contact the Holmes County sheriff’s office or crime stoppers.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the use of modified weapons has been on the rise, making firearms more dangerous and lethal. The trend has been linked to an increase in shootings across the country, with many calling for stricter gun control measures to combat the issue.
