In the United States, there are more guns than people. It’s a simple, harrowing fact. For every two American citizens, there are about three guns. In 2023, Mississippi had the highest firearm death rate in the US, after the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. In that same year, the leading cause of death for children was not sickness. It was not accidents. It was gunfire. These statistics have not shrunk since that time. In fact, we had six back-to-back shootings in a matter of three days. October 10th, 11th, and 12th all hosted a mass shooting.
October 10th.
The first was in Rolling Fork, at South Delta High. Two people are in custody in connection to this shooting, though WAPT 16 News says that it is unclear if anyone was injured.
168 miles away, in Heidelberg, two people were killed and one died a few days later from unspecified injuries, again at a football game. The victims were identified as follows: Mikeia McCray, Cayus Stevens, and Chris Newell. Mikeia was 28 and the mother of four. Chris Newell was 35. Cayus Stevens was 25. Six people have been arrested. The first, Tylar Jarod Goodloe, has been charged with two counts of capital murder, and one count of being in possession of a deadly weapon on educational property. His bail has been set at over 2 million. Damarin Starks and Jaylen Gammage were arrested and both charged with accessory after the fact and tampering with physical evidence. Jadarius Page was charged with one count of accessory after the fact. Finally, Jabari Collins was charged with possession of a deadly weapon on educational property. The final person arrested is unable to be identified publicly because they are a minor.
The Leland shooting was the last of that night, but arguably the most violent. Around midnight people gathered on Main Street after the game. After a disagreement, gunfire erupted through the crowd, hitting eighteen people, killing seven. The four victims killed at the scene were Oreshama Johnson, Calvin Plant, Shelbyona Powell, and Kaslyn Johnson. Two died the next morning: Amos Brantley Jr., and LaMichael Jones. On the 18th, Ebanee Williams died. As this post is being written, this is the deadliest mass shooting in the US in 2025. Nine suspects were arrested. Teviyon L. Powell, William Bryant, Terrogernal Martin, and Morgan Lattimore were all charged with capital murder, and Latoya A. Powell was charged with attempted murder. Latoya and Teviyon Powell were aunt and nephew, and Shelbyona Powell was Latoya Powell’s niece. Four arrestees have not been publicly identified.
October 11th.
On October 11th, an 11-year-old boy was shot in the stomach in the tailgating area of Jackson’s Veterans Memorial Stadium during a football event. It is still an active and ongoing investigation, but details about other victims have not been made publicly available. There is no suspect information.
In Lorman, MS, on Alcorn State University’s campus, 29-year-old Brekyra Fisher of Vicksburg was killed near the Industrial Technology Building. Two others were injured. Taevion Doss has been arrested on charges of murder, two charges of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm on educational property. Doss appeared before a judge on the 17th, but was denied bond.
October 12th.
Jackson was the site of the last shooting of the weekend. On Cynthia Rd, near Highway 49, a woman was struck in the head after bullets were fired into a grey Honda SUV. The male driver of the SUV pulled into a nearby Sprint Mart to call for help. Only the woman was injured, but her 6-year-old child was present.
Shootings like this have become all too common in Mississippi, and in our nation overall. Many proposals for stricter laws on guns have been shot down, opponents citing an attack on “2nd Amendment freedoms.” Gun violence is being marketed as a “complex issue” when it really isn’t. It’s difficult to say what should and shouldn’t be done, but this needs to be spoken about.
