Greenwood police are looking at a suspect in connection with last weekend’s shooting death of Bernard Nichols.
Bernard Nichols
Charges, however, had not been filed by Friday afternoon, according to Deputy Chief Marvin Hammond.
Meanwhile, an uncle of Nichols’ is saying that his nephew got tragically caught in the middle of a confrontation the uncle was having with another man.
“I want the public to know that Bernard Nichols was innocent. He had nothing to do with it, nothing,” said Tarvis Kinds, 36, of Greenwood.
Nichols, a 25-year-old Greenwood resident, was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound just after midnight on Aug. 16 in Greenwood Leflore Hospital’s emergency room. Less than two hours earlier, police had received calls in reference to shots fired in the 100 block of Taft Street. At the scene, officers found Nichols, who had been shot, and he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Hammond said the suspect police are investigating is male and is believed to be a resident of Greenwood. Hammond said the investigation is ongoing.
Nichols and Kinds were charged with aggravated assault late last month in connection with a shooting incident that occurred at the Chevron gas station off Main Street July 17. They were released on bond. The police are looking at a possible connection between the July shooting and Nichols’ death, Hammond said.
Kinds said that his nephew was killed in retaliation for that earlier shooting incident. Nichols’ mother, Ayeshan Nichols, has also expressed the same opinion.
The genesis of the shooting incident at the Chevron station began days earlier, according to Kinds. He said he had received a text message July 13 that included profanity and told Kinds to “hold up for it.”
Kinds said he called the number and spoke with a young Greenwood man he knew who was not a friend or acquaintance.
Kinds asked the man, “What’s up?” The man replied, “You know what’s up.” Kinds said he then hung up the phone and received another text message that told Kinds that the man would catch him in broad daylight and “blast” him.
Following that text message, Kinds said, he went to the Police Department later that day to file a report against the man for harassment and threats.
Kinds said he received another text July 16 from the same person, asking Kinds, “Where you at?” Kinds said he did not reply.
The next day, July 17, a birthday party was held for Kinds’ young son. Kinds said he and his nephew, Nichols, drove in separate cars to the Chevron gas station off Main Street to air up an inflatable swimming pool.
“I’m in the car. I pulled up, and I see Bernard Nichols getting out of my other blue car,” Kinds said.
As Kinds was about to open his car door, he saw a speeding, gray Ford truck pull up to the gas station right next to him. The driver of the truck rolled down his window and began firing a gun at Kinds.
Kinds said the man shooting at him was the same man who had sent him threatening texts. Kinds said he took cover by lying on the ground of his car.
When he raised up, he saw his nephew with his gun drawn out, firing back at the Ford truck to defend his uncle.
After the truck left, both Kinds and Nichols fled, Kinds said. According to Kinds, he was pulled over by the police near the gas station. Nichols had gone back home and told his mother about the shooting incident.
The mother has said that she then took her son to the Police Department to turn him in. Both Kinds and Nichols were charged with aggravated assault, and both were held briefly at the Leflore County Jail before bonding out.
“Bernard Nichols was killed for no reason. ... Bernard Nichols was killed just for being around his uncle,” Kinds said as tears began to stream down his face.
Kinds said he’s been coping “off and on” since his nephew’s death.
Among other emotions, Kinds said he’s also frustrated with police for not doing enough to address the harassment and threat report he filed against the man who has accosted him as well as for the police charging both Kinds and his nephew with aggravated assault while the other shooter is still free.
Larry Kinds, brother of Tarvis Kinds and also a uncle of Bernard Nichols’, said police probably “just charge everybody with aggravated assault because they don’t know who’s doing the shooting.”
Tarvis Kinds said he’s unsure why he was threatened and later shot at, explaining he had never dealt with the assailant before.
Hammond said the police are looking for another person who may have information on the Chevron gas station shooting but declined to say anything else since the investigation is ongoing.
Larry Kinds said his nephew, who leaves behind a 5-year-old son, had a bright future ahead of him. He said that Nichols attended Mississippi Valley State University and that the act of taking away Nichols’ life was “very senseless and cowardly.”
Larry Kinds, who teaches freshman courses at MVSU, said he lost a student, Jy’quavious Williams of Greenwood, to gun violence two months ago.
Williams, 21, a member of the Army National Guard who was studying health, physical education and recreation at MVSU, was fatally shot at Curtis Moore Apartments the night of June 16.
Nichols’ death marked the 13th homicide to have occurred in Leflore County this year, exceeding last year’s count of 11. Twelve of this year’s homicides have been the result of gun violence.
Some residents have questioned why public officials aren’t taking more action to stop the violence.
“I just think our city officials need to do better with solving some of these crimes around here. We need better gun laws because pretty much right now anybody can get a gun,” Larry Kinds said.
“I really feel like if the Greenwood Police Department can’t handle this, then they need to call in the MBI (Mississippi Bureau of Investigation) or FBI or somebody else because, as of right now, ... it’s really too much shootings going on in small Greenwood.
“And then they’re killing the innocent kids, you know? My nephew didn’t mess with anyone. He didn’t mess with anyone. ... When I see innocent children dying from gun violence, it makes me very angry. Our city officials need to do something to stop all this, you know?”
• Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
