Leland homecoming shooting leaves four dead, several wounded

A shooting in downtown Leland, Mississippi, during the town’s high school homecoming celebration late Friday left four people dead and multiple others wounded, local officials said Saturday. The mayor said the incident occurred around midnight on the city’s main street as crowds gathered following Leland High School’s scheduled homecoming game against Charleston High School.

Mayor John Lee said he was “deeply saddened” by the violence and that investigators were working to determine what happened. He announced the cancellation of a planned block party and said he had declared a state of emergency that included curfew measures for residents as officials assess the situation. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is assisting local authorities in the probe, the mayor said.

Officials have provided differing counts of those injured. Several local officials reported 12 people wounded, while other statements placed the number of injured as high as 16. Mayor Lee and other officials said four of the wounded were airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, with at least some in critical condition. No names of victims have been released.