Lowndes County investigators make an arrest in a deadly shooting

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Lowndes County investigators make an arrest in a deadly shooting.

26-year-old Joshua Whitley is charged with second-degree murder.

He remains in the Lowndes County jail waiting on his initial appearance.

The shooting happened Thursday evening on Ben Christopher Road in the New Hope community.

Sheriff Eddie Hawkins says Whitley and 25-year-old Monique McDonald got into an argument with a gun involved.

Hawkins tells WCBI at some point the gun fired and McDonald was struck in the neck by a bullet.

Investigators say this is a sad and similar scene they see all too often.

“Differences trying to be settled with gun violence and that’s not the way to settle anything. These young kids on the street today, they can’t settle their differences without picking up a gun. Whatever the case may be, that’s not the way to settle any differences. You know, resulting to gun violence is never how we want things to turn out,” said Sheriff Eddie Hawkins.

Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant says McDonald’s body has been sent to the state crime lab. She’s originally from Corinth and had been living at that home for about six months.

Whitley is from Baton Rouge and had been here about a month.