3 dead, 8 injured in shooting at high school football homecoming party

LEXINGTON, Miss. (AP) – Three people were killed and eight others injured in central Mississippi early Saturday when at least two people opened fire on a group of several hundred people who were celebrating a school’s home game victory for several hours on an outdoor trail after End of game, authorities said.

The shooting was preceded by a fight between some men at the celebration, but officials have not yet learned what sparked the fight, Holmes County Sheriff Willie March said.

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About 200 to 300 people were on the trail celebrating, and the gunfire sent them fleeing, the sheriff said in a telephone interview.

“It was chaos, to tell you the truth,” March said. “The shooting just started and people were running.”

The shootings about five miles outside of Lexington, Mississippi, followed a football game a few hours earlier at the Holmes County Consolidated School homecoming celebration. After the victory, many young people went out to celebrate.

Two of the deceased victims were 19 years old and the third was 25 years old. The injured victims were airlifted to local hospitals.

Officers collected ammunition at the scene to determine how many weapons were fired, March said.

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Shootings by young men have been a recent problem in the county, which has a population of nearly 16,000. The young men who talk to the sheriff tell him that it’s often because they’re having an argument or disagreeing with someone.

“It’s hard to see what they’re arguing about. I don’t think it’s about turf or drugs,” March said. “These are young men walking around with guns. I wish I had an answer.”