Police have charged a 19-year-old man with killing two teenage girls and wounding four others in a shooting Sunday morning at a Mississippi Gulf Coast home in Mexico.
Cameron Everest Brand, of Pass Christian City, has been charged with murder and aggravated assault, according to jail records. Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said in a statement that police identified Brand as the lone shooter based on statements from witnesses and victims.
Schwartz said the two youths, ages 18 and 16, died at a New Orleans hospital. The Orleans District Coroner did not answer phone calls to confirm his identity.
Schwartz said Brand was arrested at his home in neighboring Pass Christian and taken to jail. Bay St. Louis Municipal Court Judge Stephen Maggio denied Brand bail, and he remains in the Hancock County Jail. It is not clear whether he has a lawyer representing him.
After the Bay High School prom, a group of students gathered at a house party located on a sparsely populated street. Local press reported that traces of blood could be seen on the pavement outside the house on Sunday and that there were cars with bullet holes. The house is less than a mile from Bay High School.
Police said the six people who were shot were aged between 15 and 18 years. All were transferred to area hospitals, some by helicopter.
Officials with that school district said the two teens killed were students at Hancock High School in the city of Kiln. Two other Hancock students were shot and wounded, as were two Bay High students. They are the only two public high schools in Hancock County, located on the western tip of the Mississippi coast on the Gulf of Mexico between New Orleans and Gulfport.
“Our hearts are broken at the tragic loss of the two Hancock High School students who were the victims of last night’s shooting in Bay St. Louis,” the Hancock County School District said in a statement, adding that physicians will be available Monday. in school. “Come together as a community to show your support and love during this difficult time.”
Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District supervisor Sandra Reed said the two Bay High School students who were injured are expected to recover. Bay High School Principal Amy Nekais said faculty and staff at the school will be available Sunday afternoon to support students.
