Officials clarify, mother makes statement following gun-related incidents in Humboldt
HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — We have an update on two gun-related incidents in one local community.
Over the weekend, Humboldt had two gun-related incidents.
One occurring on Saturday and another early Sunday morning. City and law officials are wanting to clarify that these incidents are not related to one another and do not pose a threat to the public.
Strawberry Festival Incident – Saturday
According to a news release from Humboldt City Mayor Marvin Sikes, it was around 8:49 p.m. Saturday when the incident took place at the Strawberry Festival.
“Somebody brandished a gun, and caused people to be scared and took off running. There were no shots that were fired at the carnival. We had six officers there, plus Jackson officers and that began a social media post about a shooting at the carnival which was not true,” said Kenny Rich, Humboldt Police Department Chief.
The news release reads in part, “The Humboldt Police Department also had a mobile camera system that recorded an incident in which a female displayed a handgun following a verbal altercation and the crowd began running.”
“We have cameras throughout town that capture everything, but we also utilize cameras from Jackson police department that has a mobile trailer that has cameras,” said Chief Rich.
According to the release, 20-year-old Zocora Austin was the woman that displayed her gun. However, her mother is saying there’s some context missing. Anita Austin, mother of Zocora, says the news release doesn’t tell the full story of Austin trying to protect herself.
“If he looked at the surveillance camera clearly, he would have seen that my daughter got assaulted. This guy punched my daughter in the chin. And she feared for her life that they were gonna jump her again. She had the right to pull her weapon and she didn’t want to hurt anyone innocent,” said Austin.
Smith shares that this was the third time her daughter was assaulted by these same individuals.
“She’s not a bad girl she’s never been in trouble before. She only wants to protect her life and be safe, and live a normal life like everybody else,” said Austin.
Front Street Incident – Sunday
In a different and unrelated incident, around 2 a.m. on Sunday, HPD rushed to a scene on Front Street — also known as “The Crossings” — due to shots being fired.
“We are working it currently and one person is in custody and charged as a juvenile. But the shooting that is circulating social media is from Front Street, not the carnival,” said Chief Rich.
In the footage, you can see bystanders running from where gunshots were coming from. Two individuals were rushed to nearby hospitals. Chief Rich says this is an active investigation.
The news release also shares that HPD and the West Tennessee Drug Task Force worked to keep Humboldt residents safe.
“[We] Conducted multiple traffic stops under a span of five hours that night and ended up seizing 15 fire arms,” said Chief Rich.
Chief Rich is asking if anyone has any more information regarding the shooting that took place on Sunday morning to call the Humboldt Police Department at 731-784-1322 or Crime Stoppers at 731-424-8477.
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