After a more than 10-week lull, Indianola has experienced yet another senseless act of violence that ended the life of one of its young citizens after shots rang out in the early morning hours on March 1.
Amid what some describe as a barrage of bullets emanating from yet undisclosed sources, 23-year-old Beatrice Williams’ life ended after at least one of those projectiles found its way into the upper right area of her chest.
Indianola Police Sergeant Irish Johnson said they currently do not have a suspect that he could name, but hopes to have one soon.
“I'm leading to a suspect. It’s breaking slowly,” he said.
Williams’ body was sent to the state crime lab for autopsy and Johnson said on Tuesday that he has not received the report yet.
He said over 50 shell casings of varying types were recovered from the area in the 300 block of Main Street, which makes it difficult to determine which weapon fired the fatal shot or who fired the weapon.
He said there was one entrance wound on Williams’ body, but no exit opening, so once the bullet is recovered additional tests will have to be done to match the casing to a weapon.
According to Johnson, officers received the call at 1:04 a.m. and arrived on scene just a few seconds later. It is at that point that conflicting accounts of what took place takes over.
Johnson said there is some speculation as to whether Williams was still alive when she was transported to the hospital. He said he was told that Williams was being worked on at the scene, but was told by an officer that she was believed to be deceased.
Williams was later pronounced dead at the South Sunflower County Hospital. Johnson said as of Tuesday afternoon he has spent the past three days interviewing about 12 people and still has about 30 more to go.
Williams, a 2015 Gentry High graduate had reportedly been in attendance at a recreational function in the area when gunfire erupted and she was apparently caught in the crossfire.
Johnson said the many variations of what happened have slowed the investigation, which is why the department has been cautious about releasing information. "I don't want to just throw something out there and say this is what happened because I am getting conflicting stories," he said.
Based on what he was able to share, Johnson said a group of individuals had gathered for a function at the Delta Corners, "An incident broke out on the inside of it and it forced everybody to the outside and when it forced everybody to the outside, people started shooting back and forth. And she (Williams) was just an innocent bystander that caught one of the rounds," Johnson said.
He said some of the ones he interviewed indicated that three girls, who were not from this area, were fighting, others said guys were fighting. Some stated that it was a fight, while others said it was a fight that was about to happen.
He added, "Some say that before the fight actually started, one of the security guards separated them, but I've got another story that says that didn't happen." Johnson said there were reportedly two adult security guards on the premises, but as of Tuesday, he has not had a chance to interview them.
Karen Farrow, owner of Delta Corners stated adamantly that the incident did not happen at her place.
"This incident did not happen in my building, nor did it happen on my premises. It happened down that road, some guys laying low acting a fool,” she said.
Farrow stressed, “But that had nothing to do with these kids at that party.”
She acknowledged that Williams was at the party but was told that she had left to go to a nearby Double Quick store. Johnson said he had no knowledge of that.
In her account that she insists was shared with the police, Farrow said she was on her way to her mother’s house when she stopped by the restaurant to make sure the party was shutting down.
She maintains that it was shortly after 1 a.m. when she arrived.
“When I got to Sunflower Avenue I saw three people in the parking lot, it was quiet. I saw two girls coming out the building, then I saw three more girls kind of running out of the building."
Farrow said that's when she stopped and parked her car.
"And as I got out of my car, I saw a black Escalade, 2019, nice one, popped up on the curb between my business and the funeral home. This guy got out of his black truck, I'm watching him, stood up on the side of his truck, fired three times,” she said.
It was at that point that Farrow said she started toward the man in the truck to tell him to get away from her premises firing shots because there were young people in the place.
According to her, the man’s gunfire provoked a group of people that had gathered further down Main Street, closer to Depot Street and the funeral home parking lot to return fire. “He didn't shoot at nobody, he shot up in the air. When they started shooting, it was like red fire in the air," she said.
Farrow said the returned weapons’ fire prompted the black Escalade to speed off, headed north on Sunflower Avenue. Johnson said the police were aware of the claim regarding the Escalade. “That rumor is out there, but we haven't confirmed it,” he said.
Farrow said the police were on scene almost immediately, but sped past the cars where the people were firing the shots. According to her, that's when the people in the building came running out.
"I was actually in the line of fire," she said.
Farrow said she attempted to get the tag number on the Escalade, but could not see it clearly; however, she identified it as having a Leflore County tag.
Farrow asserts that she saw Williams shortly after she was hit and before she was transported to the hospital.
"When I saw the little girl she was in the grass at the edge of my building and the funeral home.”
She maintained that some guys came to her later on and said they moved Williams to the grassy area because she was laying in the street and they didn't want her to get run over by the cars that were passing.
Farrow said a group of young men that she knows hosted the party and “nothing ugly happened."
She said they are “Very very respectable boys.”
