Three people were killed and eight others injured in a mass shooting early Saturday in central Mississippi, as gunfire erupted at a large gathering celebrating a high school football team’s homecoming victory. The incident occurred near Lexington, where authorities reported that at least two individuals opened fire on a crowd of several hundred people.
The chaos unfolded after a fight broke out among some attendees, although Holmes County Sheriff Willie March stated that the cause of the altercation remains unknown. Witnesses described the scene as pandemonium, with attendees fleeing as shots rang out. “It was chaos, to tell you the truth,” March told the Associated Press. “The shooting just started and people started running.”
The shooting took place about five miles from Lexington, shortly after the celebration began following a football game at the Holmes County Consolidated School. Two of the deceased victims were 19 years old, while the third was 25. Those injured were airlifted to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Sheriff March noted that deputies were collecting ammunition from the scene to assess how many weapons were used in the shooting. The population of Holmes County is approximately 16,000.
Heading into the weekend, the Gun Violence Archive reported nearly 420 mass shootings in the US this year, defining a mass shooting as an incident where four or more victims are shot or killed. The persistent high rate of gun violence has led to renewed calls for federal gun control measures, though significant legislative action has been largely stalled in Congress.