MS Coast police officer among at least 4 injured in shooting on last day of spring break

Margaret Baker
Updated ·2 min read
3

A Coast police officer and other civilians were injured Sunday when shots rang out on U.S. 90 on the final day of Black spring break.

Biloxi police spokesperson Grandver Everett said authorities are still trying to piece together exactly what happened, where and how many were injured.

“It was all around us,” Everett said. “We had officers responding to multiple locations.”

The Biloxi police officer who was shot and injured was among other officers from different agencies responding to the action that also prompted crowds in the area of gunfire to run for safety. A video shows members of law enforcement helping the injured officer get to an ambulance.

The officer sustained injuries and was treated at an area hospital, Biloxi Spokesperson Cecilia Dobbs Walton said Sunday night. The other victims also suffered injuries and were taken to an area hospital for treatment.

Three were injured, including a Coast police officer, in a shooting outside of Surf Style in Biloxi on U.S. 90 on April 16, 2023.
Three were injured, including a Coast police officer, in a shooting outside of Surf Style in Biloxi on U.S. 90 on April 16, 2023.

The shots could be heard in the 2400 block of the beachfront highway near Surf Style and elsewhere, authorities confirmed.

“At this point, we know everyone is stable,” Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said from the scene. “Some are in serious condition, but everyone is stable.”

Biloxi police, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, and officers from Gulfport, Ocean Springs, and surrounding agencies are also on scene to assist.

Highway 90/Beach Boulevard is closed from Beauvoir Road to Edgewater Mall. Miller said police are “trying to collect every piece of evidence we can get” in the aftermath of the shooting.

The Mississippi Department Of Public Safety commissioner Sean Tindell said the agency is still gathering information.

The incident Sunday comes a day after reports of gunfire at Edgewater Mall that resulted in its early closure, though police said they had not found any gun or evidence of a shooting there. There was also a fatal shooting Saturday night at a Biloxi apartment complex.

Miller said that the incidents police have dealt with this year are not usually an issue during spring break.

The information released is preliminary as officials continue to piece together what all happened.

Sun Herald visual journalist Hannah Ruhoff contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MS Coast police officer among at least 4 injured in shooting on last day of Black spring break