Teen Girl Shot, Killed At Gas Station Hours After High School Graduation

An unidentified gunman killed a youngster just hours after graduating from Murrah High School on Tuesday.

According to authorities, the incident occurred around 10:45 p.m. at the Texaco petrol station on Medgar Evers Boulevard near Sunset Drive.

Officials said the killer shot the teenager – identified as Kennedy Hobbs, 18 – numerous times and died at the scene.

The New York Post said the motivation for the fatal shooting has not been revealed. Authorities did not also name the suspects.

Hobbs graduated Tuesday morning, according to Jackson Public Schools officials. JPS has been broadcasting live coverage of commencement ceremonies, including Murrah's. Hobbs was spotted walking across the Mississippi Coliseum stage to receive her diploma.

"A loss of a younger person, especially just after she's graduated, it's really tough," said JPS Superintendent Dr. Errick Greene. "My heart goes out to her immediate family, to her mom, to her family, to her friends, her fellow graduates."

The family is saddened, according to Hobbs' uncle, William Edwards. Her mother works as a middle school teacher in JPS, and a family member formerly served on the school board.

"I've never felt this way and I'm trying to understand it, but at this point, it's hard to process," Edwards said in a WAPT report.

Errick Greene, the Superintendent of Jackson Public Schools, reacted to the unfortunate killing.

"To get the news this morning of the passing of one of our dear graduates, it's tough," he said in an Associated Press report.

"It's really tough. And it brings into view just how important this work is that we do."

Hobbs' boyfriend also died in a convenience shop, according to her family. Jaquan Williams, 21, was shot and killed in April on Rose Street near Robinson Street, according to Jackson police. It's unclear whether the two incidents are connected.

Police have questioned several witnesses who were there at the time of the shooting that killed Hobbs.

Homicides in Mississippi's capital set a new high in 2020, with around 130 killings in the population of 161,000 people. Most incidents were gun-related, law enforcement said

The city is on course to surpass that mark in 2021. Fifty individuals had been slain in Jackson as of the end of April.