The Hattiesburg Police Department is searching for a dark blue, four-door sedan in connection to the shooting on Willis Street that claimed the life of a 6-year old child and left two other victims in critical condition.
During a Feb. 28 media briefing at the police department on Klondyke Street, officials said police responded at approximately 10:15 p.m. on Feb. 27 to a report of a shooting in the 300 block of Willis Avenue. When officers arrived, they found three people suffering from gunshot wounds: a 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.
“These individuals were at their home on a Sunday evening on Willis Avenue, playing video games and being children,” Police Chief Peggy Sealy said. “This type of heartless violence is not acceptable by any means in the City of Hattiesburg, and will not be tolerated.
“To the individuals who did this act: you will be found and held accountable for these actions. We will work diligently, and around the clock, to bring those who are responsible for this act to justice.”
More information on the make and model of the car, which was seen in the area around the time of the shooting, is expected to be released in the near future.
Anyone with information on the matter is asked to call the Hattiesburg Police Department at (601) 544-7900 or Metro Crime Stoppers at (601) 582-7867.
“In every situation like this, we know (that) somebody knows something – somebody knows,” Mayor Toby Barker said. “Somebody saw a snap, or a comment on social media, or a text message, or heard someone say something.
“But the bottom line is, somebody knows something. If that person is you, it’s important – your community needs you to come forward. It’s okay to be angry, and we should be, but if that anger – that sadness, that heartbreak – doesn’t lead people who know to come forward with information, we are failing as a community.”
A grief counseling team will be available at 912 Dabbs Avenue from 2-5 p.m. Feb. 28, from 10 a.m.-noon March 1 and from 10 a.m.-noon March 4.
“That’s whether (individuals) need guidance, resources, mental health support or just someone to talk to,” Barker said. “This is a community loss.
“For those neighbors – and even those who don’t live in that neighborhood but knew of these children or their families – we want to make sure you know help is available, and how important it is to seek assistance after events such as this.”
