At least one person is dead and five others wounded after gunfire erupted during the Mudbugs Festival at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson late Saturday, local authorities said.
In a late-night press briefing, Tyree Jones, the Hinds County sheriff, told reporters investigators were still working to figure out what exactly had led to the chaotic exchange of gunfire but that two juveniles had been apprehended and that the shooter is likely to have been the victim.
“We believe... that the victim that is deceased was actively involved in the incident that was reported regarding the gunfire,” Jones said Sunday. “I will not reveal the name or the agency the officer is affiliated with. That is something that will come out... at a later date.”
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The fatality may have resulted from law enforcement returning fire, he said, though he later tweeted that the “investigation is being conducted as an active shooter situation.”
“At some particular point, there were several shots fired from several individuals. We believe there were several shooters involved, at least five people have been shot. One of the individuals who was shot has been pronounced deceased at the scene,” he said.
He said an officer-involved shooting investigation had been launched in connection with the incident, because “we believe that one of the law enforcement personnel [at the scene] did discharge his weapon, and we believe at this particular time that the victim that is deceased is possibly due to the officer-involved shooting.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations has now been called in to assist, he said.
“At this time, we do not know what the motive is, or exactly what happened,” he said, adding that two rifles, at least one pistol, and “a large magnitude of different caliber shell casings” were recovered at the scene.
Earlier, Jones had warned on Twitter that “several shooters” had opened fire and said “the investigation is being conducted as an active shooter situation.”
WLBT reported that all the rides at the fest were shut down following the gunfire, and guests forced to leave as police swarmed the area.
The Mudbug Festival is a five-day event featuring musical performances, fair rides and a crawfish boil. American Idol winner Laine Hardy had been slated to perform at the event but was bumped from the line-up after he was arrested Friday over allegations he bugged his ex-girlfriend's dorm room at Louisiana State University.
