Shots fired into home of Mississippi candidate running for state representative

JACKSON, Miss. — Shots were fired into the home of a woman running for the Mississippi House of Representatives on Saturday, authorities said.

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According to Jackson Police Department interim Chief Joseph Wade, four gunmen approached the home of Tamarra Grace Butler-Washington and opened fire shortly after midnight, WAPT-TV reported.

Butler-Washington said she was working late in her home after a day of campaigning when she heard shots, according to the television station.

“I was working on some things for election day for my team. I heard gunshots, which, unfortunately, in this area, it’s not uncommon that we hear them. So it didn’t alarm me or anything of that nature. But then I heard them again,” Butler-Washington told WLBT-TV. “I heard that the bullet came through and shattered the glass.

“And as it traveled by, I was sitting right here. I just fell to the floor and began to crawl to the back of my house.”

The shooting was caught on the neighborhood’s surveillance video, according to WAPT. Butler-Washington’s son and niece were sleeping in the back of the house at the time of the shooting, WLBT reported. They were not injured.

“What really bothered me was after looking at the video footage. They all look so young, you know, that there’s still potential when you’re young,” Butler-Washington told the television station.

Butler-Washington is running for the District 69 seat that is being vacated by state Rep. Alyce Clarke, D-Jackson, who is not seeking reelection after serving in the House for 38 years, the Clarion-Ledger reported. She became the state’s first Black woman legislator in 1985.

Butler-Washington, who is also Black, is one of four candidates running for Clarke’s seat, according to the newspaper. She is a former Mississippi Senate clerk and a graduate of Alcorn State University and the University of Southern Mississippi, the Clarion-Ledger reported. She also holds a political management certificate from George Washington University.

All four candidates are Democrats and the election is Tuesday. Unless a runoff is needed on Aug. 29, whoever wins Tuesday’s balloting will be the new state representative, the Clarion-Ledger reported.

Police continue to investigate, and it is unclear whether Butler-Washington was targeted, WLBT reported.

“I have no reason to believe that they would target myself or my family,” she told WAPT. “I thank God no one was hurt, and I thank God that we were covered.”