Four people were killed and at least 12 others were injured after a shooting broke out following a homecoming football game in Mississippi on Friday night, authorities said. The deadly shooting took place around midnight on Main Street in Leland, Mayor John Lee told The New York Post.
“We solicit prayers for our community from people across the world that’s hearing this information,” said Lee, who was elected to office in June. “We’re not a city of high crime. It’s very, very low crime here. Everybody knows everybody, we all get along well and we’re just devastated by this event.” Authorities are yet to determine what led to the shooting.
Senseless Shooting
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No suspects have been identified or arrested. Four of the injured were airlifted to nearby hospitals, including Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, though officials have not shared details about their conditions.
All of the victims are adults, including several recent graduates of Leland High School who had come back to town to celebrate the school’s homecoming football game, officials told the outlet.
The yearly event attracts hundreds of visitors to Leland and serves as a reunion for former students, many of whom bring their college friends to join in the celebration.
Superintendent Jessie King said this year’s gathering had been “picture perfect,” with no signs or warnings that such violence would follow.
“We left there believing we’d check this one off for one in the books,” King told The Post.
“No issues whatsoever. No triggers, no warnings that something like this would take place. The football game and the tailgate on the campus — everyone was having a good time and it closed down in good spirits.”
Completely Unexpected
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After the Leland High School tailgate ended at 11 p.m., the celebration, as usual, moved downtown for a community block party hosted by local residents. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation confirmed that it is assisting with the ongoing investigation.
Leland, a small town in Washington County, has a population of about 3,500.
It’s also known as the hometown of the late Giants Super Bowl champion Johnie Cooks, who went on to play for Mississippi State before being drafted second overall by the then–Baltimore Colts in the 1982 NFL Draft.
The Leland tragedy marked the second mass shooting in Mississippi that same night after high school football games. In Heidelberg, about 200 miles to the southwest, two people were killed and another was injured when shots rang out at the end of a game on the high school grounds.
