2025 Leland, Mississippi, Mass Shooting
Homecoming Night Turns Deadly
The 2025 Leland mass shooting occurred in downtown Leland, Mississippi, during the crowded homecoming weekend for Leland High School. The violence began around midnight between Friday, October 10, and Saturday, October 11, 2025, after Leland High School played Charleston High School in a homecoming football game. Residents, former students, relatives and visitors had gathered along Main Street for an annual celebration that normally brought the small Mississippi Delta community together.
The gathering was taking place near the 400 block of North Main Street when a disagreement reportedly developed among several people in the crowd. Investigators believe the confrontation escalated until multiple individuals produced firearms and began shooting. The exact sequence of events and the identity of the person who fired the first shot were not immediately established publicly. Authorities described the incident as involving several suspected shooters rather than one lone gunman.
Gunfire erupted in the middle of the packed celebration, sending people running between buildings, vehicles and nearby businesses. Witnesses recalled hearing repeated bursts of gunfire as frightened attendees attempted to escape. Some people hid inside businesses or vehicles, while others tried to help victims who had collapsed in the street. Broken glass, abandoned belongings and other debris remained scattered across the downtown area after the shooting ended.
Deaths and Injuries
Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Two additional victims died after being transported for emergency medical treatment, bringing the initial death toll to six. A seventh victim, Ebanee Williams, remained hospitalized for several days before dying from her injuries at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson on October 17, 2025.
At least 12 surviving victims suffered gunshot wounds. Several additional people reportedly received treatment for injuries that were not caused directly by bullets, including injuries suffered while fleeing the chaotic scene. Four critically injured victims were airlifted to Jackson, while other patients were transported to hospitals in the Mississippi Delta region. The identities of most surviving victims were not publicly released.
Victims Killed in the Shooting
- Oreshama Johnson, 41 — A Leland resident who was killed at the scene near North Main Street during the early hours of October 11, 2025.
- Calvin Plant, 19 — A Greenville resident who was killed at the scene during the downtown homecoming gathering on October 11, 2025.
- Shelbyonna Powell, 25 — A Greenville resident who was killed at the scene on October 11, 2025. Authorities later disclosed that she was related to at least one person arrested during the investigation.
- Kaslyn Johnson, 18 — A Greenville resident who was killed at the scene during the shooting on October 11, 2025.
- Amos Brantley Jr., 18 — A Greenville resident who was critically wounded and died after being transported from Leland for medical treatment on October 11, 2025.
- JaMichael Jones, 34 — A Leland resident who was wounded during the shooting and later died at a medical facility on October 11, 2025.
- Ebanee Williams, 25 — A Rolling Fork resident who was critically wounded in Leland and died at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson on October 17, 2025.
Emergency Response
Police officers, emergency medical personnel and other first responders arrived to find numerous victims across the downtown area. The large number of casualties required coordination among local ambulances, hospitals and air-medical services. Some victims were treated at regional hospitals, while those with the most serious wounds were flown to Jackson for advanced trauma care.
The shooting devastated Leland, a small Washington County city where many residents knew one another. Mayor John Lee described the attack as an unprecedented tragedy for the community. Public activities were canceled, and local officials imposed additional safety measures as residents gathered to mourn the dead. Candles, stuffed animals and other memorial items were placed near the shooting scene.
Investigation and Search for Suspects
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation initially led the inquiry with assistance from the Leland Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies. Investigators examined surveillance recordings, witness accounts, physical evidence and digital material submitted by members of the public. The FBI created a website through which witnesses could upload photographs and recordings from the celebration.
Authorities said the shooting appeared to have been sparked by a disagreement among several individuals. They did not publicly identify a single confirmed motive or provide a complete explanation of what caused the dispute. Investigators released surveillance photographs of people they wanted to identify and repeatedly asked witnesses to come forward. Officials emphasized that the presence of a person in a photograph did not by itself establish guilt.
Arrests and Criminal Charges
On October 13, 2025, authorities announced the first four arrests. Teviyon L. Powell, 29, William Bryant, 29, and Morgan Lattimore, 25, were charged with capital murder. Latoya A. Powell, 44, was charged with attempted murder. The charges were allegations, and the defendants were entitled to the presumption of innocence unless convicted in court.
On October 14, 2025, investigators announced that Terrogernal S. Martin, 33, had been arrested and charged with capital murder. A judge reportedly set a $1 million cash bond. Martin’s mother publicly disputed the accusation, saying that her son had been working security at a nearby business and had attempted to protect people when the shooting began. Her account represented the family’s claim and did not constitute an official finding concerning his actions.
By October 16, federal authorities reported that nine people had been arrested in connection with the investigation. Officials did not immediately release the names and complete charges for all four of the additional people taken into custody. Investigators continued seeking information about other individuals shown in surveillance images and warned that further arrests could occur.
Authorities also disclosed a complicated family connection involving the case. Latoya Powell was identified as the aunt of Teviyon Powell, while victim Shelbyonna Powell was described as Latoya Powell’s niece. Investigators did not immediately explain publicly how that relationship may have connected to the confrontation or whether Shelbyonna Powell had been deliberately targeted.
Questions Remaining
The number of suspects and the apparent exchange of gunfire made the investigation more complicated than a case involving a single attacker. Detectives were required to determine which firearms had been discharged, who possessed each weapon, which bullets struck particular victims and whether every armed person had acted together. Publicly available information did not establish that every person arrested had fired a fatal shot.
Prosecutors pursuing capital-murder charges would not necessarily be required to claim that each defendant personally fired the bullet that killed a victim. Mississippi law can permit severe charges against alleged participants in certain criminal acts when deaths occur. The precise legal theory against each defendant would depend on the evidence, indictments and subsequent court proceedings.
Impact on Leland
The massacre transformed an annual homecoming tradition into one of the darkest events in the history of the Mississippi Delta community. Families who had expected a weekend of football, reunions and celebrations instead began arranging funerals and waiting beside hospital beds. Young adults who had recently graduated from area schools were among those killed, making the tragedy especially painful for students, teachers and former classmates.
The Leland attack was also one of several unrelated shootings reported around Mississippi homecoming events that weekend. Separate violence occurred in Heidelberg, Rolling Fork and near university celebrations elsewhere in the state. Authorities did not report evidence that those incidents were part of a coordinated plan.
Seven people ultimately lost their lives in the Leland shooting, while numerous survivors were left with physical wounds and lasting emotional trauma. Although nine arrests demonstrated the rapid progress of the investigation, the complete circumstances surrounding the confrontation remained subject to continued investigation and court proceedings. The victims’ families and the wider community were left seeking answers about how a familiar downtown celebration could erupt into such devastating violence.
