May 1 (UPI) — One person died and five others were injured during a shooting in the parking lot of a festival in Mississippi.
The incident occurred around 10 p.m. Saturday during the Second Annual Mississippi Mudbug Festival in Jackson. Six people were shot, including one of the alleged shooters, who is believed to have been killed by an officer, WLBT reported.
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating.
“There was an exchange of gunfire between at least two to three individuals in and around [a] vehicle at this location. During the course of the exchange, at least one of these individuals fired multiple rounds, multiple shots, toward the midway area of the event that was in progress,” Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones told reporters early Sunday. “We do not believe there was anybody else injured along the midway during the course of this gunfire.”
Jones posted on Twitter early Sunday morning the injured “appear to be stable at this time and don’t appear to be directly involved in the shooting or circumstances that led to the shooting.”
Four victims were taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for treatment, Jones said.
He said juveniles were detained.
“It’s very devastating and tragic,” he said. “This is what is to be considered a family-oriented event, for families from all different walks of life to come to a common location to enjoy entertainment and enjoy food… You have the reckless behavior of individuals with no regard for the lives and safety of those attending the event and I think it is a very (cowardly) and selfish act.”
Recovered at the scene were two rifles, one pistol and a “large magnitude of different-caliber shell casings.”
“Safety is a priority at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds,” wrote Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson in a statement. “I appreciate the rapid response from the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office and the Jackson Police Department. Their quick action in securing the scene prevented others from potentially being hurt.”
The remainder of the of the five-day festival Sunday was canceled.
