Two children critically injured in Winston County drive-by shooting

WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- Two children are in critical condition after being shot in a drive-by shooting Thursday night in Winston County.

Neighbors said a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy were playing outside their house at the intersection of Goss Road and Minnie Miller Road when a white SUV drove by and opened fire.

Sheriff’s deputies said they already have two suspects in custody and they expect to make more arrests in the coming days.

“When I got out the door I seen a vehicle going down the road, ‘Dat-da-dat-da-dat-da-dat.” I said what’s going on?!” said eye witness and neighbor Gwendolyn Goss.

Goss has lived in the Highpoint Community for most of her life. Hearing gunshots as she stood on her front porch was a first.

“Make me scared to sit on my porch… Knowing that done went on… Honey, if you can’t sit on your porch something is bad wrong,” said Goss.

Winston County Sheriff Jason Pugh said both boys were shot multiple times. The shots coming from an SUV.

He said deputies were able to find and stop the SUV within minutes.

“We were actually very lucky that we found the vehicle on video footage at the Murphey gas station here at the Walmart in Louisville,” said Pugh.

Pugh said both boys were taken to a Jackson hospital.

“We are anxiously awaiting any update as to their condition. The last updates that we got were that they were both in very serious condition. We hope and pray for their families that they are ok at this time,” said Pugh.

The sheriff said he does not believe the shooting was random.

“Several motives for the shooting are forming at this point. We are not ready to nail down any one particular motive as to why this occurred…I do not believe it was random. I definitely believe it was pre-meditated,” said Pugh.

Neighbors said the community needs to take a stand.

“Parents need to get together and know what their childs are doing. I said ‘I don’t want to be involved in none of this corruption around here.’ It’s just too much going on. It’s scary… My heart just goes out to them,” said Goss.

Sheriff Pugh said if you know anything about this incident, please contact Winston County Crime Stoppers at 662-773-9999.