Holiday Inn employee arrested after vehicles were shot at in hotel parking lot

Published 2:28 pm Monday, May 6, 2024

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NATCHEZ — An altercation between a Holiday Inn guest on Canal Street and one of the hotel’s employees apparently got out of hand and resulted in the employee firing shots on Saturday morning, according to Natchez Police Commander Jerry Ford.

James Billing, the employee, was arrested today for two counts of aggravated assault with manifesting extreme indifference to human life and two counts of firing into an unoccupied vehicle in connection with a shooting incident that happened Saturday at approximately 11 a.m., Ford said.

Two unoccupied cars were struck, but thankfully no one was hit, he said.

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“There had been an altercation between the employee and a guest at the hotel. The employee was attempting to leave the hotel when a guy and a girl came out and started to approach his vehicle,” Ford said. “He turned and fired (at least) four shots, striking two unoccupied vehicles.”

Ford said police recovered four of the shell casings and saw no evidence of returned gunfire.

The incident remains under investigation.