The Charleston Police Department is investigating an early-morning shooting Saturday, Feb. 26, that claimed the life of a Quitman County teen.
The victim was identified as Destini Jemerson, 16, of Marks.
Charleston Police Chief Jerry Williams II said Ms. Jemerson was the lone back-seat passenger in a car traveling down Martin Luther King Drive when she was struck once in the back. Two males, ages 18 and 17, both also from Quitman County, were in the front seat, the chief added.
Williams said the small Hyundai was southbound in a residential section between Dorothy and Shade streets when the three occupants of the vehicle heard gunshots ring out.
Ms. Jemerson was hit, and the 17-year-old driver sped from the scene and stopped on Main Street adjacent to the Tallahatchie County Jail, where he ran in and yelled that "his friend had been shot." The report came in at 1:19 a.m., the chief noted.
Williams surmised that the young driver, who reported being unfamiliar with Charleston, probably stopped outside the jail because he saw a law enforcement vehicle parked there.
An ambulance was dispatched to that location, the chief noted, but the young woman was pronounced dead there on Main Street.
Tallahatchie County Coroner Ginger Meriwether said Ms. Jemerson's body will be transported to Pearl early next week for autopsy.
"Another senseless tragedy in our community," Meriwether said. "I pray that somebody comes forward with information. ... Prayers for families of the victim. I cannot imagine what they are going through."
Williams said Ms. Jemerson had spent the day at a friend's house in Charleston and the two males drove over to pick her up and take her back to Quitman County.
"They were headed to get gas and go back home," he noted.
The chief said police believe the shooting "was just a random act."
There are no suspects at this time, Williams added.
He said anyone who has any information about the shooting is urged to contact the Tallahatchie County Jail at 662-647-5511, the Charleston Police Department at 662-647-5841 or his city cellphone at 662-375-2983.
