CLEVELAND, Miss. — A 12-year-old girl was killed and two other people were wounded in a shooting Sunday afternoon near the Citi Trends and Dollar Tree stores in Shopping City, according to the Cleveland Police Department.
Police said officers responded to multiple reports of shots fired in the South Street shopping area on July 12. When officers arrived, they found three people who had been struck by gunfire. The 12-year-old girl died at the scene.
Investigators determined the shooting followed a verbal argument between two men that escalated into a physical fight and gunfire.
Police arrested 28-year-old Cleveland resident Tiajon Butler in connection with the incident. Butler was charged with aggravated assault and discharging a firearm within city limits.
Butler appeared before a Cleveland Municipal Court judge and was denied bond after being determined to be a flight risk and a continuing danger to the community, police said.
A second suspect, 30-year-old Cleveland resident Ricky Williams, was also struck by gunfire and was taken to a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Police said Williams is expected to be charged with murder, aggravated assault and discharging a firearm within city limits upon his release from the hospital and will be extradited to Cleveland.
Police Chief Dudley Tribble said investigators believe the shooting was an isolated incident.
The Cleveland Police Department said it delayed releasing information about the shooting until investigators could collect evidence and establish the facts of the case.
