🏈 NIGHTMARE ON THE GRIDIRON: Cheers turn to chaos as ‘hundreds of shots’ rip through a packed Mississippi homecoming crowd—4 dead, 20+ bleeding in the streets! 💥😱
What sparked the hail of bullets that shattered a small-town celebration, leaving families fleeing in terror? A suspect’s in the wind, but whispers of gang beefs and old grudges are swirling…
Unmask the horror gripping the Delta: 🔍
Four people were killed and at least 20 others were injured when “hundreds of shots” erupted in the wake of a Mississippi homecoming football game, officials said.
The shooting occurred around midnight Friday on Main Street in Leland, Mayor John Lee told The Post.
“We solicit prayers for our community from people across the world that’s hearing this information,” said Lee, who was elected to office in June.
“We’re not a city of high crime. It’s very, very low crime here. Everybody knows everybody, we all get along well and we’re just devastated by this event.”
No suspects have been identified or taken into custody.
Four of the wounded were airlifted to nearby hospitals, including Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, though officials could not disclose the status of their injuries.
All of the victims are adults, including several who were recent graduates of Leland High School who had returned to celebrate the school’s homecoming football game, officials said.
The annual event draws hundreds of visitors to the town each year and acts as a reunion for graduates, who often bring college friends along to join.
This year’s party had been “picture perfect” and showed no indication of the violence that was to come, according to school Superintendent Jessie King.
“We left there believing we’d check this one off for one in the books,” King told The Post.
“No issues whatsoever. No triggers, no warnings that something like this would take place. The football game and the tailgate on the campus — everyone was having a good time and it closed down in good spirits.”
The good vibes continued when the tailgate at Leland High School shut down at 11 p.m. and the festivities, as in past years, moved into the heart of the town for a block party hosted by community members.
The gunfire came out of nowhere, said Jennifer Buckner, who was enjoying the party with her niece and some friends.
The first round was just a few quick shots that didn’t do much to disrupt the party, but it resumed several minutes later and delved into chaos.
“It was maybe 10 minutes of consistent, perpetual, automatic rounds being let off. …It went on for so long. And people just started running,” Buckner told The Post.
“We drove around the street to try to get out — bodies were everywhere. It was awful, it was very awful.”
Officials have not publicly identified a motive for the shooting.
No suspects have been identified or taken into custody.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation confirmed it was helping in the investigation.
Federal, state, and local officials held an emotional news conference Saturday in which many attendees of the homecoming festival testified that they did not feel safe prior to the shooting.
One woman claimed she saw multiple young men in the crowd with poorly concealed firearms.
Officials did not provide an update on suspects or victims during the news conference.
Leland, in Washington County, has a population of about 3,500 people.
Late Giants Super Bowl champion Johnie Cooks attended Leland High School before starring at Mississippi State and then being drafted No. 2 overall by the then-Baltimore Colts in the 1982 NFL Draft.
The mass shooting was the second of three to rock Mississippi Friday — all of which were associated with high school football games.
In Heidelberg, roughly 200 miles southwest, two people were killed and another was wounded on the grounds of the town’s high school when gunfire erupted at the close of a football game.
One of those victims was an expectant mother, according to a statement from Governor Tate Reeves.
“Our state is praying for the victims and their families, as well as the entire Heidelberg and Leland communities. Those responsible will be brought to justice,” Gov. Reeves concluded.
South Delta High School, in Rolling Fork, Miss., also had a shooting on Friday with two people arrested in connection to the incident on Saturday morning, according to local WLBT.
— Additional reporting by Matt Ehalt