On the final night of the year, a burst of gunfire in Jackson, Mississippi, brought a tragic end to 2020 for two men. Walter Hawkins, a 33-year-old man, was killed in what authorities described as a gunfire exchange on New Year's Eve. The incident, which also claimed the life of 45-year-old Cedric Mosley, unfolded in the state's capital, leaving more questions than answers in its immediate aftermath.
Details surrounding the fatal encounter remained scarce in the initial investigation.
Both Hawkins and Mosley sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene. The circumstances that led to the exchange of gunfire were not immediately clear, and authorities did not release information about what might have precipitated the deadly event. The Jackson Police Department handled the initial investigation into the double homicide.
In the days that followed the shooting, a potential link to another violent crime emerged. Reports indicated that one of the victims in the New Year's Eve shooting was a person of interest in a separate homicide investigation known as the 'Way St. killings.' However, law enforcement did not publicly specify which of the two men was being looked at in connection with the other case or provide further details about that investigation. The deaths of Walter Hawkins and Cedric Mosley were recorded as a double homicide, and the investigation into the incident was ongoing. There were no immediate reports of any arrests or named suspects in connection with the gunfire exchange that resulted in the two men's deaths.
