Saturday night shooting at Holiday Apartments sends 2 to hospital

Published 10:05 pm Saturday, June 6, 2020

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NATCHEZ — Natchez police are investigating a shooting that sent two men to the hospital just before 9 p.m. Saturday, an official said.

The shooting occurred at the Holiday Apartments where police found a vehicle with a bullet hole through the windshield, said Walter Armstrong, Natchez police chief.

The victims, a 19-year-old male and a 21-year-old male, transported themselves to Merit Health Natchez in a van that also was riddled with bullet holes, Armstrong said, adding officers believe the men might have been in the van when they were shot.

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Both victims were in stable condition and the injuries did not appear to be life threatening, Armstrong said, adding he did not know what kind of weapons were used and officers had not recovered any weapons.

A bullet also penetrated a house on nearby Gaile Avenue, Armstrong said, but did not injure anyone. Armstrong said officers are investigating whether the house was struck by a stray bullet or if it was a target.

Officers are on the scene of the Holiday Apartments and the Gaile Avenue house as well as at Merit Health Natchez, Armstrong said.

Armstrong said to have a shooting as the city, the nation and the world are focused on the George Floyd incident and violence against black people is disheartening.

“We have got to focus in on this black-on-black crime, crime against persons within our neighborhood and our community,” Armstrong said. “Take some of that energy and thrust it toward what’s going on under our nose. We need to do a better job policing ourselves and our community. We are all concerned about the other stuff as well, but we need to take care of ourselves as well.”

Armstrong said anyone with any information on the shooting should call the Natchez Police Department at 601-445-5565 or Crime Stoppers at 601-442-5000.