Blackjack resident identified as victim in fatal shooting

Authorities have identified the lone victim in a fatal shooting at a Starkville apartment complex on Friday night.

On Saturday, Oktibbeha County Deputy Coroner Billy Miller confirmed 33-yearold Joseph Turnipseed, Jr., a resident of the Blackjack community, was the victim in the shooting that occurred sometime around 10 p.m. Friday night at West Main Arms apartments at the intersection of West Main Street and South Long Street.

When Starkville police officers arrived on scene, they found Turnipseed dead in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

His body has been sent to Jackson for an autopsy. It's uncertain how many times Turnipseed was shot.

The department said in a press release that officers responded at about 10:08 p.m to the shots fired call at the apartments.

Investigators could still be seen going door to door at the apartment complex on Saturday morning, but it is unclear at this time exactly where the shooting occurred at the West Main Arms.

While court records indicate Turnipseed had never been convicted of a violent felony in Oktibbeha County, he did have a criminal record, including a drug conviction in Oktibbeha County SPD Public Information Circuit Court for cocaine Officer Sgt. Brandon Lovelady possession in 2013. confirmed that no arrests had yet been made in the investigation, which is ongoing.

The case is being investigated as a homicide and could represent the first murder in Oktibbeha County for 2019.