WILL THIS NATCHEZ SHOOTING LEAD TO A RACE WAR?

Dive into the wild, wonky whirlwind of Adams County's weekend warfare – a series of savage altercations on Deerfield Road that exploded from a bike ride gone wrong to a gunshot showdown! It all kicks off Friday night, July 11, 2025, in the Kingston area near Natchez, where 33-year-old Black resident Reginald Butler is pedaling his bicycle and crosses paths with a rowdy crew of young party-goers (mostly white dudes in bathing suits – sandbar shenanigans?). What starts as a simple cig request (or so they say) spirals into pure mayhem: Butler's knocked off his bike, pummeled by four assailants, suffering a fractured nose and possible concussion. He bolts on his bike, heads home, grabs a handgun for "protection," and pedals back – big mistake or bold move?

 

Enter round two: Butler runs into the group at another bridge spot. They allegedly drag him into the woods, resuming the beatdown. Amid the frenzy, Butler pulls his piece and blasts Hayden Pounds in the chest – one round also ripping through a nearby vehicle! Pounds gets airlifted to a hospital but bounces back and is released. The whole mess is caught on multiple phone cams, igniting community fury across racial lines – hundreds raging on social media, calling it a "heinous" attack no one should endure.

 

Arrests drop like dominoes: Butler's hauled in for aggravated assault, bonds out on $50K. Then Cameron Taunton (21, Vidalia, LA – already on probation for assaulting a disabled person) gets nabbed, charges upgraded from simple assault to aggravated assault and conspiracy ($350K bond). Houston Pretty (18, Vidalia) faces the same: aggravated assault and conspiracy ($350K). A 16-year-old juvenile joins the lineup with identical charges – name withheld. Sheriff Travis Patten warns more collars coming, with MBI and FBI probing for hate crime vibes (racial slurs? Lynching echoes?).

 

Clay unpacks the insanity: "Hard to buy a cig ask sparks this – motive missing? Butler escapes, arms up, returns – kills self-defense claim. If roles reversed under Biden DOJ, hate crime charges fly!" Questions swirl: Why the bridge? Who started round two? Innocent cig stop or deeper beef? Brace for national spotlight – Ben Crump incoming? This ain't just a fight; it's Mississippi's powder keg of race, rights, and reckless returns. Boom – truth bombs dropping!