1 dead, multiple people injured in mass shooting at downtown Ocean Springs restaurant
Seven people were shot and one is dead after gunfire rang out late Friday night during a Cinco de Mayo party at an Ocean Springs restaurant, Police Chief Mark Dunston confirmed to the Sun Herald.
Jackson County Deputy Coroner James Prisock confirmed the fatality at 12:15 a.m. Saturday at The Scratch Kitchen on Government Street. According to a press release, Ocean Springs Police responded to the scene at 10:51 p.m.
Prisock identified the deceased as 19-year-old Chayse Harmon. In a press release, Ocean Springs Police Captain Ryan LeMaire said Harmon was from Pascagoula. He was shot in the chest.
Of the six others shot and injured, two remained hospitalized Saturday afternoon, LeMaire said. He said one of the shooting victims remained in the intensive care unit at Ocean Springs Hospital, listed in stable but guarded condition.
The other shooting victim still hospitalized is under observation in stable condition at a New Orleans hospital, LeMaire said.
Crime scene tape surrounded the restaurant Saturday as a crowd of about 20 people watched police survey the scene and collect evidence. Ocean Springs Mayor Kenny Holloway was also at the scene. Police could be seen examining the patio area of the restaurant.
By Saturday afternoon, yellow crime scene tape still surrounded the back patio area where the shooting occurred. The business will stay closed Saturday night because it is still an active crime scene, LeMaire said.
The Ocean Springs Police Department said in a press release they currently have no suspects, though police have been working non-stop since the shooting.
Dunston said police are gathering information and will release more information as it develops. Anyone with information related to the shooting is urged to contact the Ocean Springs Police Department at 228-875-2211.
Scratch Kitchen patron tries to save shooting victim
An Ocean Springs woman out celebrating Cinco de Mayo at The Scratch Kitchen told the Sun Herald she tried to give the victim CPR after he fell to the ground.
Abranee Goldsmith said she was enjoying the party before shots were fired.
“I heard gunshots, so I got underneath the table, and I looked to the right and saw the (victim) gasping for air,” Goldsmith told the Sun Herald.
She found a T-shirt and and tied it around the victim’s stomach and started performing CPR before running outside to get help from police.
Goldsmith hung around the Scratch Kitchen long after the victim stopped breathing.
“I just couldn’t leave here knowing I tried everything I could to try and help him,” she said. “This type of thing does not happen in Ocean Springs. You get drunk mishaps, but not a death.”
Ocean Springs restaurant owner speaks out
Brittany Alexander, owner of the Scratch Kitchen, was helping work the door of the Cinco de Mayo party when chaos ensued.
Alexander said the suspect is believed to have climbed a nearby wall.
Alexander confirmed the victim who died was a patron of the bar.
“The person who did the shooting wasn’t a customer,” she said. “He didn’t get an arm band or anything to be out here.”
Alexander said the patio area where the DJ plays is 21 and over. Security frisks every person who enters and patrons are given an arm band after paying the cover that signals to the bartenders that they are of legal drinking age.
About 200 people were at the Scratch Kitchen Cinco de Mayo party at the time of the shooting, Alexander said.
Other shootings in Ocean Springs
The shooting was widely circulated on the Ocean Springs Talk of the Town Facebook group.
The Scratch Kitchen is located on Government Street and, like many other restaurants in downtown, opens their outdoor area for nightlife on the weekends.
A 22-year-old man was shot in the leg in the parking lot of the restaurant last month. Police have previously said that shooting may have been accidental.
There have also been shootings recently at other nightlife spots in Ocean Springs.
One was arrested in a deadly shooting outside of Kahuna-OS bar in November. Earlier that month, two people were shot outside of Ocean Springs Daiquiri Company on Washington Avenue.
The Sun Herald will update this story when more information is available.
Sun Herald reporter Margaret Baker contributed to this report.
