Travel warning issued after ‘random’ shooting along Mississippi highway |

COAHOMA COUNTY, Mississippi — In a community known for the Delta blues, many are now fearful for their safety.

“The world is a mess,” said Jayonta Horton of Clarksdale. “You have to get out of the way, you have to be unobtrusive, you have to do it slowly.”

The Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office issued a travel warning for the Friars Point area Wednesday night.

Multiple “random” shootings occurred between 8pm and the early morning hours in the area of ​​Highway 1 and near the Friars Point entrance, police said.

The sheriff’s office is now urging residents to leave the area.

“This is not a good thing. I’m not surprised, but I hate to say it. There’s a lot of gang-related incidents,” said Alec Bird of Clarksdale.

Bird knows the man who was shot.

“The shooters approached and I don’t know what happened in the altercation, but they shot at his car and a bullet hit him,” he said.

Bird said the victim, who works as a farm manager and traveled to the Friars Point area from Arkansas for work, is in critical condition.

“We’re just praying for him and trying to keep the best mind we can about this whole situation,” he said.

Bird has this message for the shooters:

“Please, please stop,” he pleaded. “There’s no point in this happening. We really want to have a safe community and not have to worry about things like this.”

If you know anything about this shooting or if you or someone you know was a victim, please call the Sheriff’s Office at 662-624-3085.

No information about the suspect has been released.