4 killed and others injured in nighttime shooting in Mississippi, mayor says

By Michelle Watson, CNN

(CNN) — Four people were killed and at least 12 others were injured in a shooting in the northwestern Mississippi city of Leland late Friday or early Saturday, the city’s mayor said.

Mayor John Lee told CNN that 16 people were shot and four were killed near downtown Leland around midnight. Lee did not clarify whether he counted the four dead among the 16.

No one was in custody in connection with the shooting, he said. An investigation is underway, the Leland Police Department told CNN when asked about reports of a shooting. It did not release further information.

The shooting happened during a gathering after Leland High School’s homecoming football game, CNN affiliate WAPT reported, citing state Sen. Derrick Simmons. CNN was not immediately able to reach Simmons.

“People were just congregating and having a good time in the downtown of Leland,” Simmons told The Associated Press.

“It’s just senseless gun violence,” he said, according to the AP. “What we are experiencing now is just a proliferation of guns just being in circulation.”

The shooting did not happen near the high school, said Lee, who did not offer further details about the shooting to CNN. Leland, a city of about 4,000 residents, is about a 115-mile drive northwest of the state’s capital, Jackson.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said it is assisting in the investigation, but deferred to Leland police for release of details about the incident.

This story was updated with additional information.

CNN’s Hanna Park contributed to this report.

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