50 cars. 150 teens. Here’s what happened at a Biloxi party that critically injured a girl

Over 50 cars and 150 teenagers had gathered for a party Saturday night in Biloxi before a shooting that critically injured a 16-year-old girl, residents of the area told the Sun Herald on Monday.

Many of those residents were still shaken by the shooting in the usually quiet neighborhood off Popp’s Ferry Road.

Police say the party happened at a home on Terrace Court, a dead-end road. The party started at 9 p.m. and proceeded as a typical large-social gathering of teenagers until 11 p.m., when gunshots started, according to residents.

Police received calls at 11:09 p.m. that guns had been discharged in the area. Bullets hit a home and multiple cars, according to residents, and resulted in one 16-year-old girl being hospitalized, according to residents and Biloxi police.

A resident who was home when the shooting occurred says that she heard over 20 gunshots outside.

Biloxi police say at least two guns were discharged.

“The shots sounded like they were coming from inside my house,” said the resident, who asked not to be identified because the shooters remain at large. “It was really scary; I am pretty shaken up about it.”

The resident says her son was in bed at the time of the shooting and thought someone was knocking at their door. He was going to go open the door when she stopped him because she recognized the sounds as gunshots.

She has lived in the area for over 19 years and said nothing like this had ever happened. She describes the neighborhood as quiet and family friendly, a typical suburban area where families walk their dogs and push kids in strollers on the streets.

“It was a really upsetting scene,” she said describing the aftermath of the shooting.

After the shooting stopped, she went outside to see teenagers all around screaming and crying, and shoes from people running strewn across the street. A pair of shoes from a party goer remained in a yard Monday.

Although she has no intent on moving, she says that her neighbor who just moved in is so disturbed by the event that she is considering selling her house.

Another neighbor describes teens knocking on her door looking for shelter as the shooting occurred.

Prayers and well wishes have flooded Facebook for the victim, whom police have not identified yet.

The investigation is ongoing. If you have information regarding the shooting, call the Biloxi Police Department at (228) 435-6112.

This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 2:48 PM.