The Student Newspaper of Mississippi State University

The Reflector

The Student Newspaper of Mississippi State University

The Reflector

The Student Newspaper of Mississippi State University

The Reflector

Suspects of shooting on Blackjack Road remain unknown

The Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department is currently reaching out to the community for information concerning two shootings that occurred on Blackjack Road in recent weeks. 
The first shooting was reported Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. by a resident at the Pointe at MSU apartments who returned home to find a bullet had entered her second story apartment. 
According to investigator Brett Watson, the bullet originated from a wooded area near the apartment complex.
The second shooting occurred Oct. 31 when a bullet passed through the rear windshield of an SUV traveling down Blackjack Road. The bullet passed in between occupants, ricocheted off the front windshield and embedded itself into the front dash, according to Watson. Four people were traveling in the SUV at the time, and the incident happened just after midnight.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported  with either case of incidents.
According to Watson, the bullets from the Oct. 25 incident, as well as fragments of the second were recovered and sent to the crime lab in Jackson. 
Watson said so far there is nothing obvious to link the two events, and until the results return from the crime lab, there is no way of knowing if the two shots were from the same gun. 
Only the results can say for certain, but Watson said he believes the first bullet was likely a rifle round in the 30 cal. range. The bullet recovered from the second shooting  was too fragmented to be able to identify without the use of the lab.
“At this time, we do not have any suspects,” Watson said. “Only a few leads. In this case we have no incident to link the two events, which gives us pause.”
A  key element concerning the two events is the times at which the shootings occurred. The first shooting was reported during daylight hours, while the second happened at night.
“We are getting close to deer season here, and people do shoot during the day to sight in rifles,” Watson said. “There is a field next to the apartments, so there is a possibility that it was a misfire. But if you shoot at 12:30 a.m.  at night by a busy street like BlackJack… that’s not target practice.” 
Connie Griffin, property manager for The Pointe at MSU said the Pointe has repaired all the damage to the apartment and has spoken with police in their investigation. 
Griffin said while the bullet did enter one of their buildings, neither of the shots occurred in one of the buildings or parking lots on Pointe property.  Further, according to Griffin the second shot had nothing to do with any residents of the Pointe.  
Watson said the police decided to bring this matter to public attention so that citizens can be vigilant.
“At this point we are knocking on doors to talk to folks and wait for people to come forward with information,” Watson said. 
If anyone has information concerning either event, regardless how small, they should  call OCSD at 662-323-2421 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 800-530-7151, or any other police department with whom they are comfortable speaking.

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The Student Newspaper of Mississippi State University
Suspects of shooting on Blackjack Road remain unknown