In the late hours of a Sunday evening in Sallis, Mississippi, a call came in to dispatch reporting a single-vehicle accident on Highway 12 West. First responders, including the Attala County Sheriff's Office and EMS, arrived at the scene on January 22, 2023, expecting to find a routine crash. What they discovered, however, was a far more grim reality.
The victim, a 23-year-old Black/African American man named Ricky Webster Jr., was found deceased, not from injuries sustained in a crash, but from gunshot wounds.
The initial report of a car accident quickly shifted to a homicide investigation. The Attala County Coroner pronounced Ricky Webster Jr. dead at the scene shortly after midnight. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was called in to take the lead on the case, cordoning off the section of the rural highway to search for evidence. An autopsy was ordered to officially determine the cause of death and to aid in the ongoing investigation.
As the investigation unfolded, it was revealed that the incident occurred approximately three miles from the Holmes County line. Despite the efforts of law enforcement and public appeals for information, the case has grown cold. To date, no arrests have been made in the shooting death of Ricky Webster Jr., and authorities have not publicly identified any suspects. The community has been left with unanswered questions surrounding the violent death of the young man, as his family continues to wait for justice. The investigation remains open, with law enforcement urging anyone with information to come forward.
