TUTWILER — Several arrests are anticipated in connection with the March 29 early-morning shooting death of a man as he lay in bed.
Mack Dixon, an officer with the Tutwiler Police Department, said there were at least "two shooters" involved in the slaying of O'Aubrey Hilson Jr., 27, at the 509 Second St. house where Dixon said Hilson lived alone.
Hilson is believed to have been shot sometime around 4:30 a.m. Monday, as that was when a police officer on routine patrol heard gunshots fired in the area of Second Street. The officer drove along the street but saw nothing suspicious, Dixon noted. No one in the neighborhood called in any reports of gunfire, he added.
It was not until Monday evening, after not hearing from her son all day, that his mother went to the residence, gained forced entry through the back door and discovered Hilson's body in the bedroom and in bed, said Dixon. Hilson's body was not in a normal sleeping position, he added.
Tallahatchie County Coroner Ginger Meriwether said Hilson, whom she pronounced dead at 8:30 p.m. Monday, died as a result of "multiple gunshot wounds."
His body is awaiting autopsy at the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory in Pearl, she added.
Once the autopsy is completed, the body will be released to Community Funeral Home of Charleston, Meriwether noted.
Dixon said the perpetrators fired through the bedroom window, never gaining entry to the house.
"Several casings" were found on the ground outside the window, and Dixon said they were "two different caliber casings."
He added that several projectiles were also found in walls of the bedroom.
Casings, projectiles and some clothing were recovered from the scene and sent to a state crime lab for analysis, Dixon noted.
After police canvassed the neighborhood on Monday, several people reported that they had, in fact, heard "several gunshots" early Monday, he said.
Tutwiler police are being assisted in their ongoing investigation by officials with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Dixon explained.
He said a motive is still being weighed. Dixon noted that law enforcement officers are continuing to interview and take statements from residents of the neighborhood where the shooting occurred and also are "reviewing surveillance" footage, although he did not mention where the footage was recorded.
"Tutwiler PD is looking forward to making several arrests related to this shooting that occurred in the city limits of Tutwiler," he added.
Dixon said this week's shooting bears some resemblance to another recent shooting that wounded six people on Lacy Street, meaning officials are considering the possibility that the incidents are related or may have involved the same gunmen.
If anyone has any information about the crime, Dixon encouraged them to contact the Tutwiler Police Department at 662-345-0057, the Tallahatchie County Sheriff's Office at 662-375-8676 or MBI at 601-987-1572.
This story will be updated.
