ISTANBUL 

Four people were killed and 16 others injured in a shooting during a high school homecoming celebration in the southern US state of Mississippi, in addition to a separate shooting elsewhere in the state that killed two people, local officials said Saturday.

John Lee, the mayor of the city of Leland, told The Guardian that the shooting occurred around midnight Friday on the town’s main street, where crowds had gathered for the high school’s homecoming game, a fall tradition for high school and college teams. At least 12 of the injured were hospitalized.

State Senator Derrick Simmons said the shooting happened during a post-game gathering, with four people airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in critical condition. No suspects have been identified, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is leading the probe.

Leland is a small city, with about 3,800 residents as of 2023. The case remains under investigation, according to a Leland police staff member who declined to give details.

The victims’ names have not been released. “I just want to send our condolences to the families of the deceased and to all those who are being treated,” Lee said. “We need to be in prayer for our city.”

About 200 miles (322 kilometers) southeast in the town of Heidelberg, Mississippi, police are investigating a homecoming weekend shooting that killed two people.

There were also unconfirmed reports of a third shooting at Rolling Fork High School, 40 mi (64 km) south of Leland, with the Sharkey County Sheriff’s Department responding Friday night, though no further details have emerged.