HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. — A Holly Springs man was charged with attempted murder after he shot a man in the head.
Michael Gordon was charged with attempted murder, and will be staying behind bars.
He was accused of shooting Nicholas Graham on the morning of April 24th.
Graham was taken to a Memphis hospital in critical condition.
Kierra Lesure and Tamera Mathews were also arrested and charged with accessory after the fact, but both were released on bond.
Now we’re told Holly Springs Police have arrested two more people from Memphis in connection with the shooting of Nicholas Graham.
Tajrai McDowell and Cratisha Jones were charged with accessory after the fact and sent to the Marshall County Jail.
Amid news of more arrests, Graham’s family decided to make a public statement.
They said they wanted justice for their family member.
“He was just an innocent bystander at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Shay Brown.
She said she wished her cousin could have been in Holly Springs Justice Court Thursday to face the man accused of trying to kill him.
“Today his initial bond was revoked. He was already out on felony bond for a similar charge that occurred recently,” said Brown.
Nicholas Graham was shot outside a party venue called the Oak Palace in Holly Springs.
“Nicholas was sitting in his vehicle when six to seven shots were fired,” she told WREG.
Brown said contrary to earlier reports, her cousin was “not” hit by three bullets.
“Only one bullet struck him in the back of the head,” she said.
The large building on Stewart Street had been leased to a couple of men wanting to throw a pre-graduation party for students at Rust College.
Dr. Ishmell Edwards, V.P. for College Relations told WREG that “the party at Oak Palace was not a Rust College sanctioned or sponsored activity. All Rust College activities are held on campus.”
Brown said her cousin didn’t attend the college party but was just “hanging out” on the parking lot.
“And when he walked back to his car, something had been said to him that he ignored. Upon that time they just shot him,” she told us.
She believed the owner of the Oak Palace should have done more to provide adequate security.
But the owner, John Carpenter, told WREG after the incident his longstanding policy on conduct has been crystal clear to anyone who leases Oak Palace.
“And if anybody rents it that doesn’t supply adequate security, they can never rent it again,” he said.
No more school parties have been scheduled, and he’s now booked solid with weddings and family reunions.
Gordon’s bond was set at $100 thousand.