One of the two men injured in the June 18 shooting at the Exxon Blue Sky gas station on Highway 12 has now been arrested in the incident.
Kahara Haynes, 20, was arrested Monday on two charges of aggravated assault and two $50,000 bonds were set. Haynes reportedly posted bond and was released.
According to Kosciusko Police Chief Herbert Dew, Dennis Horton II, 19, an enlisted soldier from Fayetteville, NC, formerly of Sallis, shot first during the altercation, injuring Haynes and Kenwon Riley, 19. Haynes reportedly shot back at Horton and a passenger in Horton’s vehicle.
“He was actively shooting. I know he was hit and he was a victim, but he was also shooting back,” said Dew of what the investigation into the matter has shown.
In a previous interview, the Chief said the department received a call at 11:56 p.m. on Thursday, June 18, reporting the shooting. Upon arrival at the scene, witnesses indicated that two men, each of whom had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, had transported themselves to Baptist Memorial Hospital – Attala. Both were later transferred to UMMC for treatment.
Witnesses told investigators that Horton, reportedly visiting home while on leave, and one of the eventual shooting victims were present at the station, but did not speak. Horton remained at the station while the other man departed, returning with a second individual in his vehicle.
"There was an altercation. They all knew each other and it's likely there were some ongoing problems between them from the past," Dew told The Star-Herald. "Both of them (who were shot) should be dead. The wounds I saw - one was hit twice center mass and the other was hit in the side what appeared to be three times."
Approximately 20 rounds were fired from three separate firearms, according to Dew. Two of those firearms, an AR15-style rifle and a handgun, were in Horton's possession, with the third weapon, a handgun, in Haynes’ possession.
The vehicles of both the alleged shooter and one of the victims were hit by bullets, as was a gas pump and the side wall of the car wash at the gas station, according to police reports.
Horton turned himself in to the Kosciusko Police the next morning, Friday, June 19, and posted two $50,000 bond before he was released.
Later that night, more than 30 bullets were shot into a Kosciusko home at 605 Taylor St., possibly in retaliation for the shooting. No one was hurt in that incident, where a relative of Horton's was asleep in the residence at the time. That relative had no involvement in the previous night's shooting, according to Dew.
