Teen gunned down just hours after her high school graduation, Mississippi cops say
“Outstanding.” “Loving.” And an ambitious teen who was always “in fashion.”
That’s how family and friends described Kennedy Hobbs, who was all smiles Tuesday as she strolled across the stage to accept her diploma from Murrah High School in Jackson, Mississippi.
It was a proud day for Hobbs, and relatives said the budding entrepreneur had big dreams after graduation. Those dreams ended that evening when the 18-year-old was shot and killed at a Texaco gas station, multiple news outlets report.
Hobbs was shot several times and died at the scene just before 11 p.m., The Clarion-Ledger reported, citing Jackson police.Some witnesses were questioned, but authorities have released few details about their investigation.
McClatchy News reached out to the Jackson Police Department on Friday and is awaiting a response.
For the teen’s family, the burning question is “why?”
“I can’t even describe the feeling; we are torn to pieces,” Hobbs’ god sister, Teiaudria Hawkins, told WLBT. “We all are. From her classmates to her family to her friends. This is unbelievable. We just want to know why. What happened?”
Hobbs was on the path to success, family members say, as the owner of her own licensed business, Kaay’s Waxing Bar.
“She already had her waxing business and her lashes, hair,” Hawkins said, according to WLBT. “Kennedy was in fashion. That’s all Kennedy knew.”
Jackson Public Schools posted a tribute to the teen on Wednesday.
“Our heart goes out to her family,” Superintendent Dr. Errick L. Greene said in a statement. “We will cherish her wonderful smile and fond memories forever. Let’s use this horrible loss as a reminder that we have to make this world a better place.”
Hobbs and her family were well known in the district; her mom is a middle school teacher with JPS and another relative served on the local school board, WAPT reported.
Hobbs’ death comes as city leaders work to address a rise in violent crime in Jackson. Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a record year for homicides in Mississippi’s capital city, where gun-related killings almost topped 130, according to crime data cited by the Associated Press.
Dwayne Pickett, who pastors the New Jerusalem Church in Jackson, said Hobbs’ death should serve as a wake-up call.
“Kennedy’s life and death could be a defining moment in our city,” Pickett told The Clarion-Ledger. “This is the moment where we say that an honors student was gunned down in our city, and we said ‘no more.’ ”
This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 9:56 AM with the headline "Teen gunned down just hours after her high school graduation, Mississippi cops say."