“You can hear the ‘boom, boom, boom,’” says Mayor Willie Parson, describing the sounds they hear all too often. “They’re shooting like 30 or 40 rounds at one time. That’s what I call a war.”
Mayor Parson says this level of gunfire is something that Crawford has never experienced before. The same day she decided to cancel the parade, there was another shooting.
“When they go to the parade, 100 or 200 or 300 people are there and you never know who’s going to have a gun or who’s going to have what,” the mayor says.
Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department Detective Drew McCain said shootings have spiked over the past few months. He said the department is “currently working anywhere from five to 10 right now.”
“About three vehicles have been shot into that came very close to hitting people,” he said.
The Crawford Christmas parade has been an annual tradition for more than 20 years. It was canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Only one person has been wounded so far.
In 2021 Crawford’s population was 652. It is 92% Black or African American, and 6% White.
