Tupelo High School senior fatally shot day before graduation

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – A Tupelo High School senior who was set to graduate Wednesday has died and a Chickasaw County man charged with murder.

Things are usually quiet in the 400 block of North Broadway.

But Tuesday evening, shots rang out on the street, and within seconds, 18-year-old Dreshawn Williams was dead.

He was the second member of the class of 2020 killed this school year.

A mentor to Williams said the senseless violence must stop.

“I heard gunshots and I seen Dreshawn laying in the road,” said Quantori Osborne, who was in front of his home on North Broadway Tuesday night, when the shooting started.

Osborne said Dreshawn Williams had been arguing with several men, who were in a vehicle with tinted windows.

Osborne said Williams was walking away from the vehicle when he was shot.

“I went toward Dreshawn and as I went toward him I was dialing 911 at the same time, to make sure he was alright, but when I got to him, it wasn’t looking so good,” Osborne said.

Williams was taken to NMMC where he was pronounced dead.

Osborne said Williams was like a son to him, and was at his home every day. Osborne’s daughter was also a member of the class of 2020 and was friends with Williams.

Osborne said Williams was ready to graduate and figure out his next steps in life.

“He really didn’t know what he wanted to do, but he would often come to me and speak to me, wanting advice, how to become a man, knowing he’s growing up. He wasn’t on the streets or nothing like that but, might see him walking up and down the street, but he was a very nice person, very helpful,” Osborne said.

Williams is the second member of the class of 2020 killed this year. Seventeen-year-old Tiara Dancer was shot in December as she was watching a fight in Haven Acres. Osborne has a message for young people.

“Violence doesn’t solve anything, walk away from violence, put the guns down, guns don’t solve anything,” he said.

Williams worked at a local fast-food restaurant. His body has been sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy, as family and friends now make plans for his funeral.

Police have arrested 20-year-old Jacquez Dominique Calvert of Houston in connection with the murder. Bond hasn’t been set.