Details from Sunday afternoon’s shooting remain scarce; victim connected to 2019 murder

Published 12:09 pm Monday, October 5, 2020

Information about Sunday afternoon’s shooting on Martin Luther King Boulevard remains scarce as investigators continue their work. But more information is coming out in regards to the victim of the shooting.

Shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, officers with the Vicksburg Police Department were dispatched to the 1400 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard for a shots fired call. When they arrived, they were told the victim, Elijah Eugene Qualls Jr., 21, was being taken by personal vehicle to Merit Health River Region with a gunshot wound to the torso.

Department officials said the shooting stemmed from an altercation between Qualls and “one or two other individuals.” They said it is one of those individuals that is believed to have fired the shot that wounded Qualls. But, details on the number of individuals, or descriptions of the suspects have not been made available.

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

Information on Qualls’ condition was not available.

Qualls is one of the individuals awaiting trial for the Sept. 21, 2019 murder of Dematric Lamar Clark. Qualls was arrested in October and charged with second-degree murder and ordered held on a $1 million bond. Eric Clayton and Demarcus James Qualls are also charged with second-degree murder in Clark’s death.

At the time of his arrest, Elijah Qualls was also facing charges of aggravated assault in connection to the June 22, 2019 shooting of a man on Mississippi 27 south of Beechwood Elementary School.

In April, Elijah’s bond was reduced by Circuit Court Judge M. James Chaney to $500,000. Judge Chaney again reduced the bond on June 8 to $250,000. Elijah was released from the Warren County Jail on July 2 after posting bond.

About Tim Reeves

Tim Reeves, and his wife Stephanie, are the parents of three children, Sarah Cameron, Clayton and Fin, who all attend school in the Vicksburg Warren School District. The family are members of First Baptist Church Vicksburg. Tim is involved in a number of civic and volunteer organizations including the United Way of West Central Mississippi and serves on the City of Vicksburg's Riverfront Redevelopment Committee.

email author More by Tim