3 teens accused in stray-bullet shooting that killed South MS man, police say
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- Police accuse three teens of manslaughter after stray bullet kills man.
- Victim identified as Joseph Whitt; autopsy pending after Jan 1 discovery.
- Two teens arrested, third sought; police say shooting accidental and isolated.
Police accused three teenagers of manslaughter this week after officers found a 47-year-old man shot dead inside his Moss Point home on New Year’s Day.
Police Chief Dennis Stevenson said officers responded to a 911 call at about 8 a.m. Thursday from a woman who found the man on the floor of the home on River Pine Drive.
Investigators believe the teenagers were firing guns at a New Year’s Eve gathering in a nearby yard when a stray bullet flew through the window of the man’s home and killed him, Stevenson said.
Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd Jr. identified the victim as Joseph Whitt. An autopsy is pending.
Two teenagers were arrested Thursday night on suspicion of manslaughter, and police have a warrant for the third teenager accused in the shooting, Stevenson said. The suspects are between 15 and 16 years old.
Stevenson said police believe the shooting was accidental.
“There’s no threat of public safety,” he said Friday morning.
The shooting was the second this week in Moss Point. Police are also investigating the death of a man found shot Tuesday evening at a hotel on Highway 63.