Mississippi authorities have launched an extensive manhunt after two women and a 2-year-old child were found shot to death Saturday night in Jackson, in what officials described as a “horrifying” crime scene.
According to CNN, police responding to a 911 call for an aggravated assault discovered the bodies of two women, ages 26 and 30, and a 2-year-old child, all of whom had been shot multiple times. One of the women was the toddler’s mother.
“This is a heinous crime,” Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said, calling the killer “the vilest of human beings.”
Investigators are pursuing a lead involving a red 2020 Mitsubishi Mirage that someone drove from the crime scene, police said. Officers later found the vehicle abandoned in Manhattan Park in North Jackson and are processing it for evidence. Police have asked anyone with information to contact the Jackson Police Department.
The triple homicide is the deadliest shooting in the capital city this year, according to the Clarion Ledger.
Jackson Mayor John Hohrn said in a social media post that he has been coordinating with the police chief and the city’s public safety team to “deploy additional resources to address immediate concerns.” Hohrn said law enforcement, community leaders, violence prevention experts and mental health professionals would be involved in an upcoming plan to address violence in the city.
“This behavior is a bad stain on all the good that is going on in our communities,” Hohrn wrote. “We will not accept violence as a way of life in Jackson. We are going to confront this head on and do the work necessary to make our city safer.”
Police said in a social media post that detectives are “working diligently to identify and locate those responsible for this horrific crime.”