Two additional arrests have been made in a Starkville shooting that sparked controversy online.
Starkville police announced that Dewaylon Brooks, 23, and Anthony Davis, 19, were handcuffed on Monday. Both are charged with attempted murder in connection with a shooting that rang out in the Cotton District late Saturday night. Law enforcement previously arrested Juantel Hughes, 19, and Jordyn Barrett, 21, and charged them with attempted murder. All four suspects are listed as Starkville residents.
“Ongoing community involvement remains an important part of public safety efforts. Anyone with information about this incident or other criminal activity is encouraged to contact the Starkville Police Department at 662-323-4131, Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 800-530-7151, or submit an anonymous tip through our website. Crime Stoppers may offer a cash reward,” a statement from Starkville PD reads.
Police responded to Maxwell Street near Lummus Drive just before midnight on Saturday, where they found one person suffering from gunshot wounds. The unidentified victim was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.
The shooting sparked public outcry online, especially as the gunfire rang out while the city of Starkville was hosting “Super Bulldog Weekend,” an action-packed, days-long event featuring the world’s largest wiener dog race, a home Mississippi State baseball series, and tens of thousands of visitors. People took to social media en masse, discussing the shooting and criticizing Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill in the process.
In one exchange on X, a user accused the mayor of focusing solely on giving downtown Starkville a facelift while ignoring “major problems” in the Cotton District — an area known for its restaurants and bars — after another user said they wanted Spruill to do more to make the college town safer and more vibrant. Spruill pushed back on the criticism.
“Y’all keep talking among yourselves, I’m going to concentrate on this baseball game. I’ll check back later to see if there is anything worth responding to,” Spruill wrote on Sunday afternoon, adding three broom emojis signaling the Bulldogs were in the process of sweeping LSU.
Spruill later took to X again to note that the city is working on a “measured and reasonable” response to the shooting, one that could include checkpoints with mandatory bag searches and metal detectors.