A seven-year-old is dead after being shot just a short distance from the historic Crossroads in Clarksdale.
The murder occurred at 4:57 p.m. Monday after the child was struck in the upper body by shots fired at the Crossroads Laundry-Mat at the corner of Desoto and Highway 161.
A 28-year-old black male was also hit by gunfire in that incident. Police discovered evidence of a shooting in the form of spent shells when they arrived on the scene, but the victims had been carried to Delta Health-Northwest Regional Hospital.
“No arrest has been made in connection with this shooting,” said Clarksdale Police Chief Robbie Linley. “The community is being urged to contact police with details of this incident by simply calling 911.”
Linley said police are intensely working this incident, another homicide and separate drive-by shooting that occurred Monday, and a shooting over the weekend that sent two to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
Man killed, arrest made
Monday’s first homicide was reported at 2:08 p.m. with police responding to Roosevelt and Grant streets on a shots fired call. The victims had been taken to the hospital before police arrived.
Police reports said Walter Morris, 23, Black male and a 19-year-old Hispanic female had been shot in that incident and Morris later died from his wounds. The female was not identified and was transported to an un-named hospital.
Police investigators later arrested Taakaius Conrad, Jr., 21, Black male, and have charged him with Murder and one count of Drive-By Shooting. He was placed in jail awaiting his initial hearing.
Shots Fired
At 6:30 p.m. Monday, reports of shots fired from vehicles at the intersection of Highway 161 and Madison Avenue were called in to police.
Business owners in the area reported multiple shots fired between two vehicles but there were no reports of anyone hit in that shooting.
Police later determined the shooting occurred on a parking lot with two Black males firing from a vehicle towards a gas station in the 400 block of South State Street.
Monday evenings violence immediately prompted a crackdown by police and all 23 officers were called in by the department.
“The Clarksdale Police Department along with the assistance of the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI) are diligently following up on leads and evidence gathered to identify those responsible for these shootings,” said Linley. “If anyone knows any information on these cases or any other crimes committed in Clarksdale, we ask that they please call 662-621-8152 and ask to speak to someone in the investigative division. Any person or persons may also call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-827-4637.”
Linley said police seized between 15 and 20 weapons in the six hours following Monday evening’s shootings.
Kadarius Thomas, 28, Black male, has been charged with one count of Possession of a Weapon by a Felon as a result of that sweep. He was arrested in the 600 block of Barnes Street and is in jail awaiting a bond hearing and possible parole violation and revocation hearing.
Double Quick Shooting
Over the past weekend Clarksdale reported a number of shots fired at the Double Quick at Desoto and Martin Luther King.
That incident occurred Friday night and it is also under investigation with police seeking witnesses to the gunfire. It was reported that customers at the store dove between gas pumps and ran around behind the building in that incident.
Police said one person was shot in the stomach and another was shot in the leg in that exchange of gunfire.
No arrests have been made in connection with that incident.
“The Clarksdale Police Department will prosecute the person or persons responsible for these crimes and any other crimes to the fullest extent of the law,” said Linley. “The Clarksdale Police Department and the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work together along with our other law enforcement partners to provide a safe living environment for the citizens of Clarksdale.”
