One year after Leland mass shooting, no indictments, only questions

Leland has marked a year since a homecoming block party in the heart of downtown erupted in gunfire, claiming the lives of eight people and leaving grieving families and the community to process the tragedy. 

Families of the victims and residents returned to Main and Fourth Streets on the Oct. 11 anniversary of the nation’s deadliest mass shooting of 2025. Instead of chaos and people seeking cover from gunfire, the memorial offered music, prayer, candlelight and a balloon release. 

More people flock into town this week for Leland High School’s Friday homecoming festivities. Meanwhile, court records and statements from officials offer little indication of progress in the shooting investigation. No one’s been indicted, few have been charged and no motives have been established.

Leland Mayor John Lee said families and the community are still wondering why the tragedy happened and lacking the closure that only trials and convictions can begin to provide. 

“That’s going to be delayed,” Lee told Mississippi Today, noting that few cases have been brought forward in court. 

The eight who died are remembered: 

• William Sexton, 37, of Leland; Calvin Plant, 19, of Greenville; Kaslyn Johnson, 18, of Greenville; Amos Brantley Jr., 18; of Greenville; and JaMichael Jones, 34; all buried in Greenville. 

• Oreshama Johnson, 41, was a Leland High School alum who enjoyed working with children. Shelbyona Powell, 25, of Greenville, liked to sing, dance and spend time with family.  Ebanee Williams, 25, graduated fourth in her class from South Delta High School in Rolling Fork and was called a fearless, artistic free spirit. 

Sixteen other people were wounded.

Authorities have charged and publicly identified five people they say were involved. But state and federal court records show none has been indicted for murder, while one has pleaded guilty to a potentially related gun possession charge and is now in federal prison. 

Local, county, state and federal agencies have investigated the case, which remains active and open. It is a complex case with no established timeline to complete the investigation, said Alex Gibert, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety. DPS oversees the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Narcotics, which are among agencies involved in the investigation. 

“We recognize the tremendous impact this tragedy has had on the victims’ families, the Leland community, and the state of Mississippi. We understand the desire for answers and appreciate the patience of those affected as investigators continue their work,” the department said in an statement to Mississippi Today. 

“Our priority remains conducting a thorough investigation and ensuring that any findings are supported by the evidence.”

An early theory the FBI gave for motive was that the shooting may have been “sparked by a disagreement among several individuals.”

Gibert, though, would not comment about a potential motive, any firearms evidence collected, whether any evidence has been tested or other details “that could compromise the integrity of the case.” 

FBI Jackson Field Office spokesperson Marshay Lawson referred comment to the Leland Police Department, which she said was the primary investigator who invited the bureau to assist. 

Leland Police Chief Isaac Morris Sr. reiterated that the investigation is ongoing. Morris, who became chief in August, said much of that investigation had already been done under the previous administration. Jimmy Myrick was the chief when last year’s shooting happened and he was the department’s leader until his termination in the spring.  

The FBI released five names of people allegedly linked to the mass shooting. Terrogernal S. Martin, 33; Morgan Lattimore, 25; Teviyon L. Powell, 29 and William Bryant, 29 were charged with capital murder. Latoya A. Powell, 44, was charged with attempted murder.  

Investigators contacted in the past two weeks did not say whether additional people have been charged in connection to the shooting. 

Five suspects have been held at the Washington County Regional Correctional Facility in Greenville since last year, according to court records. 

Meanwhile, grand juries have met four times in Washington County to consider cases for indictment. Grand jury proceedings are secret, so it isn’t known if anyone has been indicted in the case. But indictments are typically public once suspects are served, which is something that could be done in this case with most of the known suspects in jail. 

Detainee awaits indictment a year later

Among those arrested in the mass shooting is Morgan Lattimore, whom authorities identified as being 25, although arrest records show his date of birth in 2008 would have made him 16 at the time of the arrest. He was charged with eight counts of capital murder and one count of attempted murder.

The high school student has had no prior convictions, according to his attorney. Lattimore missed his entire junior year and what currently would be his senior year. 

Lattimore’s bond was initially set at a $3.05 million cash bond – a figure he cannot afford and his attorney asked to be reduced. 

It took until at least June for his bond to be brought down to a $500,000 surety bond and for him to be housed separately from adults at the jail, according to a bond motion filed by his attorney, Stephen Edwards Jr., the Washington County public defender. 

On Oct. 12, Lattimore had a second bond hearing in Washington County Circuit Court, which led to a second reduction of $250,000. 

A surety bond enables his family to use a bondsman who can pay the full amount while the family pays 10%. Lattimore’s initial cash bond meant his family would have had to pay the entire amount without help. 

Edwards declined to comment on his client’s case. But in a Sept. 28 motion for bond reduction, the attorney argued that a lower bond would help his family make the payment and bring him home to Leland to await trial should he ultimately be indicted. 

Other suspects from the shooting have also had bond hearings this year, resulting in bond reductions from the million-dollar cash amounts to surety bonds ranging from $50,000 to $250,000, according to court records. 

Edwards has questioned since last December what evidence exists to establish probable cause that Lattimore shot and killed eight people and attempted to kill another at the homecoming block party. 

The attorney wrote that the only evidence presented at a December 2025 preliminary hearing for Lattimore and five co-defendants was testimony from an MBI agent who saw video of the incident.

Edwards said the video wasn’t provided to him or the court. According to the agent’s testimony, the video showed shots were fired from north of the crowd and some returned fire. The agent testified that Lattimore ran, took cover and returned shots, firing off “less than five shots,” according to court records.

But Lattimore did not fire the initial shot, nor was he in the area where the initial shot took place, Edwards wrote. Testimony didn’t indicate who or what Lattimore shot at and if his bullets struck anyone. Lattimore also cooperated with the FBI, giving them a statement and his gun, according to his attorney. 

“The MBI essentially testified that Mr. Lattimore and others were charged because they chose not to keep running and taking cover, instead choosing to shoot back,” Edwards wrote in a December 2025 petition for writ of habeas corpus, a civil legal filing that allows people to challenge their detention. 

Washington County Circuit Judge Ashley Hines held a hearing in February at which a portion of surveillance video was played in court.  

The video showed Latimore in a crowd of people running after gunfire went off and how he fired fewer than five shots, court records state. That video also showed him among a group that took cover behind a vehicle and then running inside a building for safety. 

In April, Hines found probable cause to charge Lattimore with eight counts of capital murder. 

“Although he was not the only shooter or initial shooter, Lattimore had a gun which he shot multiple times,” Hines wrote in a March 12 order. “Eight people died and numerous people were injured during the shoot-out.”

Again, the video was not given to defense counsel, Edwards wrote in the September motion to reduce Lattimore’s bond.  

District Attorney Dewayne Richardson, whose district includes Washington County, did not respond to a request for comment about whether the Leland suspects have been indicted or if their cases are expected to be presented to a grand jury. 

Suspect convicted of federal gun charge

Court records show that William Bryant, one of the five the FBI identified was indicted on a federal gun possession charge and took a plea deal in exchange for the government agreeing not to charge him with related offenses, according to court records

The indictment states that he possessed a gun in Leland the day of the mass shooting, but it does not mention a location or time of day that Bryant had the weapon. 

A spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District declined to comment because of an active investigation. Gregory Park, the federal public defender who represented Bryant, did not respond to a request for comment. 

To help determine how much prison time he should serve, the federal government submitted one exhibit: Video of the Oct. 11, 2025, mass shooting. Mississippi Today has not been able to obtain a copy of the video or view it, and it is unclear whether it’s the same video Lattimore’s attorney has referenced. 

By July, he was sentenced to serve three years.

Undercurrent of public mistrust

Two weeks after the mass shooting, the FBI arrested more than a dozen law enforcement officers accused of public corruption for accepting bribes and helping to move drugs from the Delta and Tennessee – the culmination of a years-long investigation. 

Those charged include Milton Gaston, the former sheriff of Washington County whose department has been involved in investigating the Leland shooting. 

Since the arrests, at least seven officers have pleaded guilty and one was acquitted. 

At an October 2025 news conference announcing the arrests, Robert Eikhoff, special agent in charge of the FBI Jackson Field Office, said his agents faced initial impediments responding to the Leland shooting because of broken trust in law enforcement. 

“We learned of the community’s distrust of select law enforcement officers due to concerns of corruption,” Eikhoff said. “Law enforcement is only effective when the communities they protect can trust that law enforcement officers are honest in serving the community’s interest. Mississippians deserve and rightfully expect officers to obey their oath.”

Leland to return for homecoming

Across the Delta, homecoming traditions such as pageantry, football, music and tailgating continued despite homecoming-related shootings last year in Leland and Rolling Fork. 

For Leland, homecoming celebrations this year will look different than years before, local leaders said. 

The parade was moved to 10 a.m. from the afternoon on Friday, and the football game will start at 2 p.m. Leland police officers and Washington County sheriff’s deputies plan to provide security at the game, said Mayor Lee. 

Lee said some of the most noticeable changes will be no more tailgating and large gatherings on school or city property. He said people can still celebrate at home, saying it’s a right the city can’t “(take) away from them.” 

Chief Morris said his department has worked with the school district on safety, and he credited the district for safety measures such as bag checks and metal detectors that have resulted in no issues at games this season. 

“This is the one year anniversary of the mass shooting and we want to make sure everyone feels safe and comfortable coming to the game,” he said. 

“We’ll be happy for them to come back,” Morris said, “and celebrate our homecoming, as always.”