Additional Coverage:
- Four arrests made in connection with mass shooting that left six dead in Mississippi Delta (themirror.com)
FBI Announces Arrests in Deadly Leland Mass Shooting; Multiple Incidents Rock Mississippi Homecoming Weekends
LELAND, MS – The FBI announced Monday the arrest of four individuals on various murder charges in connection with a shooting in Leland this past weekend that left six people dead and more than a dozen injured. This tragic event marks the 14th mass killing in 2025, according to tracking databases.
Teviyon Powell, 29, William Bryant, 29, and Morgan Lattimore, 25, have been charged with capital murder. Latoya Powell, 44, faces a charge of attempted murder. An FBI spokesperson confirmed these details to The Associated Press, noting that the agency had previously sought public assistance in identifying suspects, releasing surveillance footage of one female and three males.
The shooting, which occurred in downtown Leland following a high school football homecoming game, was one of the deadliest incidents across the state over the weekend. Four victims were killed at the scene in the small Mississippi Delta town.
One witness described the aftermath as “the most horrific scene I’d ever seen.” While authorities have not disclosed a specific motive for Friday night’s gunfire, the FBI stated it appears to have been “sparked by a disagreement among several individuals.”
The investigation is ongoing, and the spokesperson indicated that “other arrests are pending.”
According to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killing Database, a mass killing is defined as any homicide in the U.S. since 2006 in which four or more people were intentionally killed within a 24-hour period, excluding the offender.
The violence in Leland was not an isolated incident, as other shootings were reported at two Mississippi universities on Saturday, coinciding with their homecoming celebrations.
In Heidelberg, on the east side of the state, the bodies of two individuals, including a pregnant woman, were discovered on a high school campus Friday night. This incident also occurred on the same evening Heidelberg High School held its homecoming football game.
An 18-year-old man has since been arrested and charged with two counts of murder and illegally possessing a gun on school grounds. Heidelberg, a town of approximately 640 residents, is located about 85 miles southeast of Jackson.
Additionally, on the Alcorn State University campus in Claiborne County, three people were found with apparent gunshot wounds near a campus building around 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation confirmed that one of the victims died. Police responded to reports of shots fired in the area of the industrial technology building, but no arrests have been announced in that case.
The shooting took place after more than 7,000 spectators had attended Alcorn State’s homecoming game earlier that afternoon.
Further south in Jackson, police responded around 7 p.m. Saturday to the tailgating area of Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, where Jackson State University hosted Alabama State University.
A juvenile was shot in the abdomen and transported to a local hospital. Few other details were immediately available, and no arrests have been announced in connection with that shooting.