Kosciusko Police Chief Chris Wray spoke to The Star-Herald about recent shootings in the area and confirmed that the department is working diligently to solve these cases and continuing to deter crime within the community.
A 21-year-old man was pronounced dead on the scene following a fatal shooting that occurred at Kosciusko’s Northside Park around 11:51 p.m. on Friday night, April 29, 2022. After receiving reports of shots fired, Kosciusko police officers responded to the park and encountered a Black male who had sustained bodily injuries from a gunshot wound. The victim was identified as Kenwon Tyshon Riley of Kosciusko. No charges have yet been filed, and the investigation remains ongoing, but Wray said investigators have persons of interest for the homicide.
“The investigators are working diligently to solve that case,” said Wray. “They're following up on several leads and tips that they've received from the community. They do have persons of interest that they are following up on, but that's really all I can say at this time.”
Around 1:03 a.m. on May 5, 2022, Kosciusko police officers heard the sound of gunshots when patrolling near Westwood Drive in the city limits. As officers proceeded to the location, dispatch alerted the department that an individual at 102 Westwood Drive was a victim of a gunshot wound. The victim was identified as 19-year-old Jatavius Noel.
Wray said, to his knowledge, Noel was the only individual in the immediate area when officers arrived.
Lieutenant Casey Pounders and Officer Braxton Goza responded to the scene and applied a tourniquet to Noel’s injured extremities before Noel was transported to the hospital by EMS. Wray said the officers’ quick reaction and medical capabilities to apply the tourniquet likely saved the victim’s life.
“Medical staff is telling us that if it was not for the action of those officers, the victim would not have even been able to be loaded up into the ambulance and be transported to the hospital — that he would have died due to his injuries if it was not for the quick action of the responding officers,” said Wray. “It's my opinion that they saved that young man's life.”
The investigation of the shooting remains ongoing.
Wray said he doesn’t believe that the two shootings are related, but the department is not ruling anything out.
The police chief said KPD is continuing its mission to be proactive in keeping the community safe and deterring crime.
“The Kosciusko Police Department is doing everything that it can to combat crime in our community,” said Wray. “We are being more proactive than in years past. We are actively patrolling our high crime areas. And anyone that comes into our community to do harm, it is our mission to see to it that the victims of these crimes get justice. We appreciate the community’s support, and we are doing everything within our power to stop crime in our communities. If anyone has any information about either one of the last two shootings that occurred in our community, we ask you to contact the investigators with Kosciusko Police Department.”
Investigators Elizabeth Miller or Cody Williams with the Kosciusko Police Department can be reached at 662-289-3131.
