Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
2 Teens Killed When Shooter Opens Fire at After-Prom House Party
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
May 1, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Police have charged a 19-year-old man with killing two teenagers and wounding four others in an early Sunday shooting at a house party on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Cameron Everest Brand of Pass Christian is charged with murder and aggravated assault, jail records show. Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said in a news release that police identified Brand as the sole shooter through witness and victim statements.

An 18-year-old and a 16-year-old died in a New Orleans hospital, Schwartz said. The Orleans Parish coroner did not return a phone call seeking to confirm their identities.

Friends and family identified them as De’Arreis “DD” Smith, 18, and Haeleigh Stamper, 16, classmates at Hancock High School.

Smith was a senior getting ready to graduate, according to Kecia Sams, who considered him an adopted member of her family.

“De’Arreis Smith was an amazing soul, a loyal friend, brother and uncle,” Sams told Nola.com. “He was loved by many and will be missed so very much by his family.”

GoFundMe account was set up to help with funeral expenses for Stamper. In the posting, the organizer, Lillie Smith, described the teen as a “sweet soul.”

“Her beautiful smile would light the whole room up,” Smith said.

Suspect Arrested at Home

Brand was arrested at his home in neighboring Pass Christian and taken to jail, Schwartz said. Bay St. Louis Municipal Court Judge Stephen Maggio denied Brand bail, and he was being held in the Hancock County jail. It is unclear if Brand has a lawyer who could speak for him.

Students had gathered for a party at the home on a sparsely populated road after Bay High School’s prom. Local news outlets reported that trails of blood could be seen on the pavement Sunday outside the home, while cars were peppered with bullet holes. The home is less than a mile from Bay High.

Police said the six victims wounded by gunfire ranged in age from 15 to 18. All were taken to area hospitals, some by helicopter.

Casey Woods, an 18-year-old student at Pass Christian High School, told the Sun Herald of Biloxi that he was at the party with a girlfriend. He told the paper he saw Brand talking to people and then walking away before he returned and the shooting started.

“Me and my girl looked up and saw sparks coming from the gun,” Woods said, adding many people ran into the woods.

Both of the teens who died had attended nearby Hancock High School in Kiln, officials in that school district said. Two more Hancock High students were shot and wounded, as were two students from Bay High. Those are the only two public high schools in Hancock County, on the western end of the Mississippi Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Gulfport.

“Our hearts are broken as we mourn the tragic loss of two Hancock High School students who were victims of the shooting in Bay St. Louis last night,” the Hancock County school district said in a statement, saying counselors would be available Monday at school. “Let us come together as a community to show our support and love during this difficult time.”

Sandra Reed, superintendent of the Bay St. Louis-Waveland school district, said both of the wounded Bay High students were expected to recover. Bay High Principal Amy Necaise said the school was making faculty and staff available on campus Sunday afternoon to counsel students.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

DON'T MISS

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

DON'T MISS

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

DON'T MISS

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

DON'T MISS

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

DON'T MISS

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

DON'T MISS

Stay Cool, Fresno!

UP NEXT

North Korean Charged in Cyberattacks on US Hospitals, NASA and Military Bases

UP NEXT

Watch: Breaking Down Netanyahu’s Speech in Congress

UP NEXT

Uvalde, Texas, School Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Failing to Protect Kids During Attack

UP NEXT

Arson Suspect Named as Park Fire Near Chico Triples in Size

UP NEXT

Mexican Drug Kingpin Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada in US Custody

UP NEXT

Harris Tells Netanyahu ‘It Is Time’ to Get Hostage Deal Done and End Gaza War

UP NEXT

Biden and Netanyahu Meet With a Show of Amiable Relations Despite Tensions

UP NEXT

Sheriff’s Detectives Investigate Deadly Shooting in Riverdale

UP NEXT

CalFire Makes Quick Arrest of Arson Suspect in Explosive Park Fire Near Chico

UP NEXT

Fresno County Detectives Arrest Sinaloa Man with $1 Million in Narcotics

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

3 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

4 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

4 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

4 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

5 hours ago

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

5 hours ago

Stay Cool, Fresno!

5 hours ago

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

5 hours ago

Tanker Plane Crash Kills Firefighting Pilot in Oregon as Western Wildfires Spread

6 hours ago

Will Bonta Election Lawsuit Reverse the Will of Fresno County Voters?

6 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

The arch of colorful balloons over the doorway of a storefront on Shaw Avenue in Clovis was a clue that something exciting was happening on ...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

3 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

3 hours ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

3 hours ago

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

4 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

4 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

4 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

5 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend