JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – After a violent weekend in Mississippi that involved shootings at homecoming events, law enforcement officials said more mentorship opportunities for the youth could help curb such trends.

Data from the Gun Violence Archive showed that the mass shooting in Leland had the highest number of deaths recorded in a mass murder so far in 2025. They define a mass shooting as four or more people killed or injured by gunfire, not including any shooter. Six people were killed in Leland.

Sean Tindell, the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (MDPS), said there’s no one-pill approach to ending gun violence.

“It has to be a multifaceted approach with access to juvenile programs. Taking a deeper look at what we do with juvenile delinquents and those criminal elements there,” he said.

Tindell believes youth need to be held accountable for their actions and that mentorship programs would be helpful.

“Sadly, a lot of these young individuals at that age don’t have any real supervision or mentorship or any guidance. And so, when they’re not getting that at home, they’re going to end up getting on the streets. And so, we need to find a way to provide better mentorship and programs for these individuals,” he stated.

Tindell said he would be in favor of having a boot camp for the youth to get them on the right track.

“I would love to see a broadened program to where we have more that military boot camp-style services for these types of delinquents, particularly at a younger age. I think if you wait until they’re 17 or 18, you’ve waited too late. We need to get to these individuals 12, 13 and 14 years old,” he said.