9-year-old killed during a drive-by shooting in Mississippi, three suspects arrested

Three Mississippi men are facing charges related to a drive-by shooting that left a 9-year-old boy dead, police said.

Barron ‘B-Man’ Hubbard, 29, Tabyron ‘Tayy Tayy’ Fisher, 21, and Dellveon ‘Dez’ Lindsey, 19, were each charged with murder and six counts of aggravated assault, according to the Starkville Police Department.

Starkville police received reports of shots fired, followed by a report of a gunshot victim at a hospital moments later. Police learned that a 9-year-old child was hit by gunfire while inside a car around 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 5.

The boy, who later died, was in a vehicle, “known to be associated with the individual targeted,” police said.

Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard told the press the three suspects were in one car when they opened fire on a second vehicle. The two cars shot at each other until one car left the area.

A short time later, relatives of the first victim about a mile away from the location of the first drive-by left their home. That is when the suspects then "rolled up and opened gunfire" upon the relatives, according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

Lasang Kemp Jr., 9, was a passenger in that car and was struck by at least one bullet. He was carried to the hospital, where he later died.

Ballard said police believes the three men also are directly related to a double homicide that occurred in March 2021 outside an apartment. Earnest Perkins, 32, Justin Vaughn, 32, died in the March shooting, according to media reports.

“We do believe that the individuals involved in (Jan. 5's) tragic events, were also involved in, if you recall almost a year ago, in the double homicide,” Ballard said.

The suspects are being held in the Oktibbeha County Jail on $3.5 million bond.

The murder charges the underlying felonies of aggravated assault could be upgraded to capital murder, which might merit the death penalty. The decision to upgrade the charges is normally made by the District Attorney or the grand jury.