By Steve Neavling
Federal authorities have charged four people in connection with a weekend mass shooting that killed six and injured more than a dozen others during homecoming celebrations in the small Mississippi town of Leland.
The FBI said Monday that Teviyon L. Powell, 29, William Bryant, 29, and Morgan Lattimore, 25, are charged with capital murder, the Associated Press reports. Latoya A. Powell, 44, faces an attempted murder charge.
The agency’s Jackson Field Office announced the arrests in a statement but did not say whether the defendants have legal representation. The Associated Press reported that a voicemail was left with the Washington County Public Defender’s Office seeking comment.
The shooting erupted late Friday night in downtown Leland, shortly after a local high school football game. The gunfire broke out during homecoming festivities, leaving four people dead at the scene and two others dying later from their injuries. Blood stained the pavement the next morning as investigators collected evidence from a street littered with abandoned shoes and debris.
Authorities have not released a motive, but the FBI said the shooting “appears to have been sparked by a disagreement among several individuals.” A spokesperson added that “other arrests are pending” as the investigation continues.
Witness Camish Hopkins told the Associated Press that the scene was chaotic and gruesome.
“It was the most horrific scene I’d ever seen,” Hopkins said. “People were bleeding, and four people were lying dead on the ground.”
The Leland shooting was the deadliest of several violent incidents across Mississippi over the weekend, including shootings at two universities during their homecoming events.
Federal and local investigators continue to examine what led to the bloodshed in the rural Delta town, about 120 miles northwest of Jackson.
