A juvenile has been charged as an adult with drive-by shooting after authorities say he shot into an unoccupied school bus parked at a county residence.
The bus was parked at a home on Sibley Road northwest of Eupora, between Cummings Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. No one was injured in the incident, which occurred between 11 p.m. and midnight Friday according to one of the homeowners, who asked not to be identified.
The resident, who was home with her husband and their two children at the time, said her husband heard the gunshot but they did not know the bus had been shot into until law enforcement officers, after learning of the incident, woke them up later.
Deputy John Stone of the Webster County Sheriff’s Department was the arresting officer but was off duty Monday and unavailable for an interview. However, Eupora Police Chief Gregg Hunter was able to provide additional information.
Hunter said Cpl. Tyler Bierdeman initially received a call about suspicious activity that night, which led to him stopping a car in the city occupied by three juveniles. Bierdeman discovered a .380-caliber handgun and a spent shell casing in the floorboard, Hunter said, and further investigation revealed a drive-by shooting had occurred at the Sibley Road residence. The sheriff’s office was then contacted since the shooting occurred in the county, and Bierdeman took the gun and shell casing into evidence.
Hunter said officers found a bullet hole in the school bus, which was confirmed to be part of the Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District’s fleet. Although the motive for the shooting is not known, he said the shooter was apparently targeting the school bus, but noted it was parked close to the house.
The investigation resulted in Stone charging the 16-year-old driver of the car that was stopped with drive-by shooting. Hunter said he was charged as an adult because he used a firearm in the commission of a felony.
The juvenile, who was booked into the Webster County Jail at midnight, was identified as James Clifton “Cliff” Files. Files lists his current city as Starkville on his Facebook profile.
He was released on $5,000 bond Monday morning. Webster County Justice Court said an initial court appearance had not yet been set. No city charges were filed in light of the county's felony charge.
