Gunman fires at least 20 shots into car in Starkville neighborhood as city’s streak of gun violence continues

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Yet another eruption of gunfire ripped through the night air in a Starkville neighborhood Monday, causing some residents to dive for cover in their own homes.

While no one was hurt, it is the latest in a string of violent incidents in Starkville.

“The last 30 days are not reflective of Starkville’s values,” said Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard.

Starkville Police say they responded to reports of shots fired just after 9 p.m. in the area of Orchard Lane and Reed Ridge Circle. Residents say they thought they heard as many as 30 shots go off.

“The timeframe, if you’ve got a couple of seconds, you can reel off 20 rounds,” said Chief Ballard, who says investigators confirmed there were at least 20 shots fired.

Residents told WCBI there were so many gunshots, it sounded like a bomb going off or someone firing a bazooka. Chief Ballard believes a car outside one of the homes was the target.

The car’s owner is not cooperating with investigators.

“Obviously, when an individual is refusing to come forth whenever you have shots fired at your vehicle, that’s a flag for us that you might be engaged in other activities,” Chief Ballard said.

This latest incident comes in the wake of two deadly shootings not far away.

“The thing that each one of these crimes we believe have in common is a commitment of illicit drugs, a commitment of gun violence, (and) a commitment of solving disagreements via a gun,” the police chief said.

Chief Ballard says law enforcement is using every resource available to try and halt this rise in crime.

“Whether you’re talking about prevention of stolen weapons, whether you’re talking about addressing addiction,” he said, going over their various strategies. “Our officers get it, we feel the weight and we feel what the community is experiencing, especially in the north side of town.”

SPD has also set up a Hyperzone within the north side.

“From Garrett down to Westside, from West Side to 182,” Chief Ballard said. “And that’s where officers primarily patrol. That’s a 24-hour presence of officers.”

The goal remains to stop as many of these crimes as possible before they happen. But for the ones that do occur, Chief Ballard says his officers have risen to the challenge over the last year.

“Every violent crime has been met, with the exception of one, with an arrest or multiple arrests,” Chief Ballard said. “And that’s a tribute to the men and women of the Department that represent the community and they take their responsibilities very seriously.”

Chief Ballard says they are still in the early stages of the ongoing investigation and SPD has not released any suspect information at this time.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Starkville Police or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers.