While Vicksburg Police Chief Milton Moore marked the close of 2019 by reporting the city had experienced a significant decrease in homicides from the previous year, he agrees “one homicide is too many for any city to endure.”

Moore’s statement came in a release recently from the department documenting the year ended with three homicides within the city limits in 2019, down from seven reported homicides within the city limits in 2018; a 57 percent reduction.

“The Vicksburg Police Department will continue to do all it can to make this city as safe as it can be.  We still have a lot of work to do,” Moore said. “As members of the community, we all need to be proactive and take a stand. This community is our home and we should all get involved and work together to continue to improve Vicksburg.”

The first of the three homicides happened Sept. 21, when 36-year-old Dematric Lamar Clark was shot and killed on the 1200 block of Fayette Street.

Eric Clayton, Demarcus James Qualls and Elijah Eugene Qualls Jr. have been arrested and charged in Clark’s murder.

On Oct. 30, Moses Ellis, 23, suffered a gunshot wound to the neck in an assault that took place at the Days Inn on Warrenton Road. Ellis died from his injuries days later at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

Two Vicksburg teenagers, Kevon Moore, 19, and Titan Moore, 18, have been arrested and charged in connection to Ellis’ death.

The final homicide took place just before Thanksgiving when Courtney Dewayne Anderson was shot and killed at a home on the 3700 block of Halls Ferry Road on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

Following an hours-long, citywide manhunt, 28-year-old Jason Kyle Skinner was taken into custody and charged in Anderson’s murder.

“I would like to thank the District Attorney’s office, Judges, law enforcement personnel and the public for their support and cooperation,” Moore said.