The Greenwood eighth-grader wounded in a May 4 shooting in Broad Street Park is out of the hospital but has not yet officially returned to school.
One suspect in the shooting remains in jail, and Greenwood police said they continue to hunt for possible accomplices in the drive-by.
Xavier Hunt, 14, was shot in the chest when gunfire broke out in the park at about 8:30 on a Sunday evening, leaving him seriously wounded. He was airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Xavier’s cousin, Renaldo Hunt, 25, was shot through the upper right thigh. His wounds were not as serious as Xavier’s, and he was treated and released from Greenwood Leflore Hospital that night.
Montrell Greene, the Greenwood School District’s superintendent, said Xavier — a student at Greenwood Middle School — had visited the school but hadn’t returned to class as he continues to recover.
The alleged triggerman in the shooting, Robert Phillips, 25, 205 Mockingbird Lane, remains in the Leflore County Jail.
Phillips has been charged with drive-by shooting and two counts of aggravated assault. Bond has been set at $1.5 million.
“Right now the only information we have is that he’s the only shooter,” said Greenwood Acting Police Chief Ray Moore. “What we’re looking for now is those that may have assisted him.”
Moore said the investigation is continuing. He said detectives had not settled on a definitive motive in the shooting. Xavier did not appear to be the target, Moore said, though he declined to say whether Renaldo Hunt may have been a target.
“That’s still under investigation,” Moore said. “We’ve got several different avenues we’re looking at, but we just don’t have anything concrete yet.”
Xavier may have survived the shooting solely because a U.S. Navy corpsman, Jarvis Broom, happened to also be in the park at the time of the shooting.
Broom, 25, a Greenwood native and combat-trained medic, was home on leave to visit family and had brought his 12-year-old nephew to the park.
Broom treated Xavier, helping control the bleeding and stabilize the teenager’s condition, which, according to Broom, included fractured ribs and a collapsing lung.
Moore hailed Broom’s response to the situation, saying the medic’s training and quick reaction likely saved the child’s life.
• Contact Bryn Stole at 581-7235 or bstole@gwcommonwealth.com.
