Ten people are now confirmed dead and more than a dozen injured in separate shootings in five Mississippi counties from Friday through Saturday.
Most of the casualties occurred during a shooting in Leland in the Mississippi Delta.
Washington County Coroner La’Quesha Watkins said in a Saturday morning press release that four victims declared dead at the scene were 41-year-old Oreshama Johnson, 19-year-old Calvin Plant, 25-year-old Shelbyona Powell and 18-year-old Kaslyn Johnson.
She said the Hinds County Coroner’s Office confirmed the death of 18-year-old Amos Brantley Jr., followed by the Shelby County Coroner’s Office confirming the death of 34-year-old JaMichael Jones. Both were shot Friday night in Leland, but died Saturday morning.
In addition to the six confirmed deaths, Leland Mayor John Lee told the Guardian that gunfire injured at least 10 others.
Lee said the shooting happened following Leland High School’s homecoming game Friday evening.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Saturday on the social media site X that the agency is “mobilizing assets to assist local authorities in the case.”
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that five people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. Teviyon L. Powell, 29, William Bryant, 29, and Morgan Lattimore, 25, were arrested Monday and charged with capital murder, while Latoya A. Powell, 44, has been charged with attempted murder. On Tuesday, Terrogernal S. Martin, 33, was arrested and charged with capital murder.
The FBI’s Jackson field office late Sunday released images of four people — one female and three males — as “unknown suspects.” The FBI said the shooting may have started after “a disagreement among several individuals.” The Associated Press left a voicemail with the Washington County Public Defender’s Office asking if its attorneys are representing the defendants.
A separate shooting happened on Friday in the town of Heidelberg in East Central Mississippi, where two people died from gunfire and a third person was injured on Heidelberg High School’s campus. Gov. Tate Reeves said on his Facebook page that one of the victims was an expectant mother. Mississippi Today later reported that Cayus Stevens died ss a result of wounds he suffered in Heidelberg, the third fatality from that shooting.
Heidelberg Police Chief Cornell White told The Associated Press that the school was celebrating its own homecoming weekend Friday, though it is unknown as of press time when the shooting took place. WLBT reported Saturday morning that the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office had taken a person of interest into custody.
A third shooting took place on Friday at South Delta High School in Rolling Fork, about 40 miles south of Leland.
The Clarion-Ledger reported Saturday that gunfire injured one man who was in stable condition. Sharkey County Sheriff Herbert Ceasar Sr. said two arrests have been made in the case.
A fourth shooting at Alcorn State University in southwest Mississippi happened Saturday.
WLBT reported the death of 29-year-old Brekyra Fisher as well as two other injuries. There had been no arrests in the case as of press time.
The site of the fifth shooting was near Jackson State University’s Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in the capital city on Saturday, with one child injured by gunfire.
Interim Jackson Police Chief Tyree Jones said on Facebook on Saturday that the shooting occurred at the stadium’s tailgate section near West Street. Police transported the child by patrol car to the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
“I shouldn’t have to text my parents to tell them I’m safe every time there’s a shooting near my school,” said Eshah Green-Ortega, a volunteer with the Jackson State chapter of Students Demand Action, in a statement released by the organization. “It keeps happening on our campuses, at our celebrations, and in our communities. We deserve to feel safe learning and living our lives, and our lawmakers need to do their jobs and pass the basic gun safety laws that will keep us safe.”
Reeves said on Facebook that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is assisting local law enforcement with the cases.
Officials have not yet released potential motives for any of the shootings.
Anyone with additional information to share may email kevin@mississippifreepress.org.
This article originally appeared on Oct. 11, 2025, in the Mississippi Free Press. It is republished with permission.
