Cameron Brand pleads guilty to killing Hancock teens in after-prom mass shooting
Cameron Brand of Pass Christian pleaded guilty Friday morning to two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of aggravated assault in a mass shooting at an after-prom party in Bay St. Louis.
High school students from multiple cities were at the party. Two Hancock Counthy High students lost their lives that night in April 2023: Haeleigh Stamper, 16, and De’Arreis “DD” Smith, 18, both from Hancock High School.
District Attorney Crosby Parker sat at the defense table with Assistant Attorney Jeremy Necaise, the prosecutor assigned to the case. Parker said the state was unwilling to give any breaks to Brand in exchange for the plea on Friday morning before Judge Christopher Schmidt.
“This was such a heinous and brutal crime,” Parker said. “You have two teenagers who were killed and four others injured. The state of Mississippi was not going to plea bargain this case.”
Parker said no lighter sentence will be recommended in exchange for the plea. Brand faces the potential of two life sentences, back-to-back for the murders, plus a total of 80 years for the aggravated assaults. One of the injured teens spent time in ICU, Necaise told the judge.
Brand, accompanied by defense attorney Lee Russell, spoke up at the hearing. He said that he and Smith had been arguing on social media and he thought Smith would turn up at the party.
Brand said that his judgment was clouded by marijuana and alcohol. He shot Brand from a distance of about 10 feet, hitting three females nearby. He said that he fired his gun about 17 times.
“I ran to my car,” Brand said. “A lot is still blurry (about) that night.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 10:13 AM.
