‘He’s a victim.’ Relative of 2 charged in Gulfport mass shooting speaks out at meeting
A relative of two of the young men charged with murder following the deadly New Year’s Eve shooting in Gaston Point criticized Gulfport’s investigation at a community meeting Tuesday night.
Marilyn Turnage identified herself as an aunt of Mario Clark, 23, and Vincent Armstrong, 18, who are among the four suspects Gulfport police have so far identified and charged in the mass shooting, which left four people dead. She said Clark was inside the house when the shooting occurred.
“Yet he got locked up as a murderer, when he’s a victim,” she said. “The law says you have a right to carry. You have a right to stand your ground. So when people come into your home, and spray you, what are you supposed to do?”
Gulfport Police Chief Chris Ryle responded that the investigation, which is ongoing, “has been very thorough.” Ryle has thanked the Gaston Point community for coming forward and providing information that led to arrests in the crime.
“I stand by where our investigation is at at this time,” he said.
The questions and discussion at the meeting, attended by about 75 community members, showcased disagreements over how to understand and respond to the mass shooting.
Some speakers and attendees argued the event was a tragic illustration of the need for greater community involvement in Gaston Point. Others believed that it said nothing in particular about the neighborhood, and resulted from a combination of permissive gun laws, partying, and youthful shortsightendess that could have happened anywhere.
Many blamed Facebook and declines in church attendance for changes in youth behavior. Others pointed to a lack of opportunities and activities after school.
Ryle, Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes, Councilman Truck Casey, Councilwoman Ella Holmes-Hines and District Attorney Crosby Parker were among the officials serving as panelists.
Jeffrey Hulum III, a community activist and nonprofit leader who was born and raised in Gaston Point, delivered a speech calling on everyone to engage with teenagers and young people, rather than talking about them as a menace. He had once been a Gaston Point young person who benefited from second and third chances, he said.
“If you did not come into this community and try to help them before this happened, you just as guilty as these kids,” he said. “You perpetuate violence by your silence.”
After Turnage spoke, Gaston Point native Justice Court Judge Melvin Ray took the podium. He urged people to “trust the process,” noting that there are many steps between an arrest and conviction.
“They’re still being investigated,” he said. “Let’s pray for the truth.”
A mass shooting in the final moments of 2021
The shooting in the last minutes of 2021 killed four people: Corey Dubose, 23; Sedrick McCord, 28; Aubrey Lewis, 22; and Nathaniel Harris, 52. Three others were injured.
The shooting took place at a New Year’s Eve party, intended as a small family event, that grew into a block party. A fight broke out and escalated into multiple people firing into a crowd. Police said more than 50 shots were fired from handguns and assault rifles.
Ryle previously announced that at least two of the victims fired weapons.
Around the country, gun violence and mass shootings rose in 2021 over 2020, continuing a trend in recent years. Mass shootings, defined as those where four or more people are wounded or killed, soared in 2020, disproportionately affecting predominantly Black neighborhoods.
A week after the shooting, Gulfport police arrested three people and charged them with second-degree murder and shooting into a dwelling. A fourth person is in custody in Kentucky on unrelated charges and will face murder charges when he is extradited to Gulfport.
One suspect, 26-year-old Khalid Williams, is currently alleged to have possessed a firearm illegally.
At the meeting on Tuesday night, Ryle emphasized that the investigation is not over and more charges are coming.
“More arrests are gonna come,” he said. “They’re not all from the Gaston Point community.”
Gun violence and young people
In Gulfport, residents have been particularly troubled by shootings involving young people in recent years.
All but one of the victims and suspects in the New Year’s Even shooting is under age 30; one suspect is just 18 years old.
In April, a shooting near Gulfport High School claimed the lives of Juan Reginald Harvey Jr., 19, and Teraye Preston, 18.
The police department has launched a program called Before the Bullet, aimed at identifying young people at risk of committing a violent crime and connecting them with mentoring and education and work opportunities.
At Tuesday night’s community meeting, election commissioner and longtime Gulfport activist Christene Brice set up a kind of memorial to the people the city has lost to gun violence, particularly young men.
On a plastic table in the back of the room, she spread out a banner featuring photos of the people whose funerals she has attended as an usher. Behind it, she placed framed funeral programs for recent victims, including Keevon Jerome Edwards, who was shot and killed on Dec. 12, and Sedrick McCord, one of the victims in the New Year’s Eve shooting.
A binder on the table contained clippings and more funeral programs for dozens of victims over the years.
Brice said she had brought everything in the hopes that it would reach someone.
This story was originally published January 12, 2022 at 9:17 AM.
