Officials from the Hattiesburg Police Department are asking for the public’s help with solving two unsolved homicides that occurred in the Hub City over the past year: a woman who was found deceased at Duncan Lake and a 6-year-old child who was killed on Willis Street during a drive-by shooting.
The matters were addressed at a May 17 news conference at the HPD facility on Klondyke Street, which was attended by Mayor Toby Barker and members of the department’s command staff.
The first homicide discussed was that of 37-year-old Hattiesburg resident Lashaun Collins, also known as Shaun. Collins’ body was discovered just before noon on May 24, 2021, behind the lake.
After a preliminary autopsy at the Mississippi State Crime Lab, Collins’ death was ruled a homicide. However, due to the nature of the ongoing investigation, the cause of has not been released.
“(Collins) was a resident of the North Main Street area, and would sometimes be seen walking in the Main Street area,” said Major Shannon Weaver-Harris of the HPD. “She was a daughter, she was a sister, she was an aunt and a member of our community.”The second unsolved case discussed was in regards to a shooting on Willis Street that claimed the life of a 6-year-old boy and left two other victims in critical condition. In that instance, police responded at approximately 10:15 p.m. on Feb. 27, 2022 to a report of a shooting in the 300 block of Willis Avenue.
When officers arrived, they found three people suffering from gunshot wounds: the 6-year-old male, a 5-year-old female and a 20-year-old male. All three were transported to a local hospital; the 6-year-old later succumbed to his injuries.
“He was a student of Rowan Elementary, a son, a grandson, a brother, and also a member of our community,” Weaver-Harris said. “We’re still asking the community to help bring some closure to the families that have been affected.
“These victims were members of our community, and these homicides have affected and changed multiple families. Someone out there knows something, or has a piece of information, that can help us close these two cases and get closure for the grieving families.”
Police are still searching for a dark blue, four-door sedan in connection to the Willis Street shooting.
Anyone with information on either of the homicides is encouraged to call Metro Crime Stoppers at (601) 582-7867. Callers are not required to give their names and will be allowed to remain anonymous.
“In both homicides that are still unsolved and under investigation, we know that someone knows something,” Barker said. “When a neighborhood hears gunshots on multiple nights, even if that’s just someone shooting into the air, somebody knows something.
“When that one house in the neighborhood has unlawful activity going on, and everyone knows it … somebody knows something. For community policing to be successful, communication has to be a two-way street.”
