Mass shooting at Oasis Lounge leads to injuries and a death
The Oasis Lounge on Hwy 45 just north of West Point was the scene of a mass shooting, leaving a 20-year-old woman dead and a dozen other people injured.
CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – In the early morning hours on March 3, a once bustling nightclub was shut down.
The Oasis Lounge on Hwy 45 just north of West Point was the scene of a mass shooting, leaving a 20-year-old woman dead and a dozen other people injured.
Law enforcement said this isn’t the first time Oasis has seen violent crime.
Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott says they are looking into what to do with the club.
“I immediately shut it down last night. It is a crime scene to start with,” Scott said. “It will not reopen until they’re given information. In the meantime, I have already been approached by our county government leaders. There is a statute and a law that addresses this so we will be looking at this this week.”
The Clay County Sheriff’s Department is still in the preliminary stages of its investigation. Deputies are tracking down victims and witnesses to get a clearer picture of what happened.
Based on their current information, they believe there are multiple shooting suspects.
Club security officers on the scene chased an alleged suspect through the parking lot. The suspect ran across the 4 lanes of Highway 45 Alternate and escaped into the woods.
Sheriff Scott says most of the people at the nightclub were not from Clay County. Still, he encourages the community to stay safe and away from large gatherings.
“These large gatherings right now are just not wise to do,” Scott said. “We understand people wanna go and they wanna relax and they wanna have fun, but look around us. Again, I think you are taking a chance on your life right now when you go to these large events. So we are just advising everybody to be careful. Parents know where your kids are. Make sure they are not in an environment where they can get hurt.”
Just the day before, the Clay County Community Action Group held a rally against gun violence. After news of the Oasis shooting broke, they planned a prayer vigil for the community.
Member R.H. Brown says the group has hope.
“We hate to see another deadly shooting in a small town,” Brown said. “It’s not a large city. In spite of the circumstances, we are called to pray without ceasing no matter what happens whether there is life, death. People of faith believe that we have the answer and we will continue to pray. We will continue to pray without ceasing. Praying in hope and faith and we are looking for there to be peace, a lack of violence, and we are looking for prosperity.”
The name of the person who was fatally shot has not officially been released.
Other victims were taken to hospitals in the Golden Triangle.
Sheriff Scott encourages anyone with information to leave a tip through Crime Stoppers. They hope to have more updates on May 4.
