WCBI News at 6: 10/26/2020

WCBI News at 6: 10/26/2020

Investigators now believe the fire at a columbus home improvement store was intentionally set.

The fire happened about 9:30 on sunday morning.

Columbus fire chief martin andrews tells wcbi firefighters believe the blaze was set by a shopper that was hoping to create a diversion.

The unidentified man took an item from the store, as employees and customers evacuated the store.

Some inventory was damaged with smoke and water.

The building was not damaged.

In a statement, lowe's says it has safety measures in place that allowed workers to quickly evacuate the store.

It says quote.."

The store reopened this morning and we are cooperating with the investigation."

End quote.

Columbus police are investigating the incident.

A millport, alabama man is killed in a weekend accident.

The alabama law enforcement agency says the car 53-year-old darrell estes was driving collided with another vehicle.

The crash happened on highway 96 this past saturday evening about six miles west of millport.

State troopers continue to investigate the accident.

Top two people are arrested in connection with two separate shootings in columbus saturday night.

Police say the first shooting happened around 9pm on forrest boulevard.

One victim was taken to the hospital following a gun shot wound... two people are arrested in connection with two separate shootings in columbus saturday night.

Police say the first shooting happened around 9pm on forrest boulevard.

One victim was taken to the hospital following a gun shot wound... 22 year old breezy whitmore was arrested in connection to this shooting.

Then, around 10:30 pm, a second shooting..

This time on gregory road where one person was taken to the hospital for injuries as well.

Police chief fred shelton says a person has been arrested but their name has not been released at this time.

Intro officers in columbus are juggling multiple investigations with three shootings in a span of two weeks.

But as wcbi's bobby martinez learned, the crimes are not connected.

He joins us live outside the police station with more..

That is right joey, the past two weeks for columbus police department have been busy.

Chief fred shelton says he wants the public to know that their safety is the number one focus..

It has been a common issue as of late... "columbus police are investigating a saturday night shooting.."

"a second columbus shooting leaves another man injured.."

"two people are injured in an east columbus weekend shooting.."

Shootings in recent weeks..

Have columbus police stepping up their patrol.

Sot - fred shelton - police chief - columbus pd "where we see large gatherings or parties or anything i'm having some type of altercation we are trying to reduce that and having them move on and enforcing the law."

The string of shootings began last weekend on brown street.

Where two people suffered injuries in what police believe was at a underage house party.

Then this past saturday.

Two additional shootings.

And while these shootings are all unrelated.

Chief shelton wants the public to know..

Sot - fred shelton - police chief - columbus pd "we are here to make this community safe.

We want to make our police department more efficient and effective and proactive.

So again that's going to mean sending us out there more and having us do more interacting with the public.

When you see something or hear something call the police if you hear a loud noise people arguing gun shots pick up the phone and call the police."

Juggling numerous investigations at once can be challenging.

But chief shelton says his department has created a work flow that helps solving these crimes as easy as possible.

Sot - fred shelton - police chief - columbus pd "you prioritize your cases.

So again when we have people shot, cases like that are gonna take more priority over regular cases.

But again, we work them all.

But again when there's life that's been in danger then of course we are going to make that a priority."

And anyone who has information on these shootings, you are asked to contact columbus police or golden triangle crime stoppers..

Reporting live in columbus bobby martinez wcbi news..

The mississippi bureau of investigation has issued a silver alert for sixty seven year old dora lee jackson of grenada, mississippi, in grenada county.

She is described as a black female, five feet and nine inches tall, weighing two hundred and ninty one pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

She was last seen friday, october twenty third, 2020, in the 800 block of washington street in grenada county.

Dora lee jackson is believed to be in a 2005 gold dodge caravan bearing ms license plate gaa2872 traveling in an unknown direction.

Family members say dora lee jackson suffers from a medical condition that may impair her judgement.

If anyone has information regarding the whereabouts of dora lee jackson contact grenada police department at 662-226-1211.

First look stinger first look big picture: moisture from hurricane zeta is going to merge with a cold front and upper low pressure center tuesday night into thursday.

The end result will be a good chance of rain and a period of gusty winds.

The highest wind from zeta and and the isolated tornado threat currently looks to be along and south of the i-20/59 corridor wednesday night and thursday morning.

Monday night: partly to mostly cloudy.

Lows in the 50s.

Winds nne 5-10 mph.

Tuesday: partly to mostly cloudy.

Some showers are possible during the afternoon with higher odds of rain moving in during the evening.

Highs mainly in the 70s but there will likely be a big gradient from nw to se across our area.

Winds ne 5-15 mph.

Mph.

The mississippi state department of health is reporting new covid-19 cases over a two-day period.

The 675 new cases and eight deaths are from saturday and sunday.

Hospitalization numbers did improve over the weekend.

Currently, 683 people are in the hospital with confirmed or suspected symptoms. 154 of those patients are in i.c.u.

Over the two day period, lee county is reporting the most new positive cases with 27.

Yalobusha has 23, monroe has 15, and alcorn has 11.

No other counties reported more than ten new cases over that time period.

Seven additional counties in mississippi are now under a mask mandate.

The counties added today are not in the wcbi viewing area.

Lee, chickasaw, and itawamba do remain under the previous mandate.

Governor tate reeves says he does not anticipate issuing a state-wide order on election day.

However, he encouraged people to wear a mask and vote.

The other big topic at today's press conference was halloween masks.

State health leaders say every halloween costume should include a cloth mask.

"we understand it's been a long hard pandemic and if kids need a little bit of a break, there are safer ways to do it.

There's not 100% safe anything really, if you're out in public these days.

But it's the simple stuff... maintaining distance from one another, wearing a mask when you're out trick or treating, there's recommendations about having to-go bags people can pick-up so you're not interacting with somebody, frequent hand washing...that sort of thing."

16 of mississippi's 82 counties are under a mask mandate.

Absentee voting continues to set records in mississippi... the mississippi secretary of state's office reports that 169 thousand 87 ballots have been requested.

So far, more than 142 thousand have been received at circuit clerk's offices throughout the state.

In our area, lafayette county has received the most absentee ballots with over four thousand.

Lee, lowndes, oktibbeha, and monroe counties round out the top five.

Choctaw county has seen the fewest ballots received.

The deadline for in- person absentee voting is this saturday.

All mail-in absentee ballots must be postmarked by election day... november 3.

In alabama, more than 206 thousand absentee ballots have been returned.

Stinger friends and colleagues of dan camp are remebering him as a leader with a vision and a plan.

More on his impact in starkville just ahead.

Stay with us.

Starkville residents continue to mourn the loss of dan camp.

He was the former mayor of starkville and the visionary behind the "cotton district."

It's no secret that dan camp was an extraordinary business man, a dedicated mayor, and an overall pillar of the community.

His personality is described as gruff, boisterous, and exciting.

Those we spoke with today say he was also a good person... a family man... and his legacy will live on through the town he helped shape.

"he was a leader.

He was an innovator.

He was a visionary.

He saw things before any of the rest of us saw it.

He helped create starkville as it is now."

"he was one of the most giving and caring people i've met, and he really was such a dear friend."

"he's always been a visionary.

Dan camp.

You can't say enough about what he did in terms of starkville."

Arrangements for dan camp have not yet been announced.

Stinger big picture: moisture from hurricane zeta is going to merge with a cold front and upper low pressure center tuesday night into thursday.

The end result will be a good chance of rain and a period of gusty winds.

The highest wind from zeta and and the isolated tornado threat currently looks to be along and south of the i-20/59 corridor wednesday night and thursday morning.

Monday night: partly to mostly cloudy.

Lows in the 50s.

Winds nne 5-10 mph.

Tuesday: partly to mostly cloudy.

Some showers are possible during the afternoon with higher odds of rain moving in during the evening.

Highs mainly in the 70s but there will likely be a big gradient from nw to se across our area.

Winds ne 5-15 mph.

Tuesday night: cloudy with areas of rain.

Some could be locally heavy or or at least steady.

Milder lows in the 60s.

Wednesday: mostly cloudy with a 70% chance of rain.

Highs in the 70s.

Winds se 5-15 mph with higher gusts.

Wednesday night: rainy and breezy and the remnants of zeta swirl through the region.

Lows around 70.

Winds se 10-20 mph with higher gusts.

Thursday: wet and breezy, especially during the first half of the day.

Some gusts could be over 30 mph.

The heaviest rain is likely during the morning hours with a drying trend taking over during the afternoon.

Highs in the 70s.

Friday: partly cloudy and cooler.

Highs in the 60s.

Weekend: mostly sunny.

Highs in the 60s.

Lows in the 40s.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app big picture: moisture from hurricane zeta is going to merge with a cold front and upper low pressure center tuesday night into thursday.

The end result will be a good chance of rain and a period of gusty winds.

The highest wind from zeta and and the isolated tornado threat currently looks to be along and south of the i-20/59 corridor wednesday night and thursday morning.

Monday night: partly to mostly cloudy.

Lows in the 50s.

Winds nne 5-10 mph.

Tuesday: partly to mostly cloudy.

Some showers are possible during the afternoon with higher odds of rain moving in during the evening.

Highs mainly in the 70s but there will likely be a big gradient from nw to se across our area.

Winds ne 5-15 mph.

Tuesday night: cloudy with areas of rain.

Some could be locally heavy or or at least steady.

Milder lows in the 60s.

Wednesday: mostly cloudy with a 70% chance of rain.

Highs in the 70s.

Winds se 5-15 mph with higher gusts.

Wednesday night: rainy and breezy and the remnants of zeta swirl through the region.

Lows around 70.

Winds se 10-20 mph with higher gusts.

Thursday: wet and breezy, especially during the first half of the day.

Some gusts could be over 30 mph.

The heaviest rain is likely during the morning hours with a drying trend taking over during the afternoon.

Highs in the 70s.

Friday: partly stinger lane kiffin gets an explanation from the s-e-c....a look at the controversial call next in sports spx it's been a much needed bye week for the mississippi state bull dogs... not only have they lost three in a row... but it gives them extra time to prepare for a matchup with number two alabama in tuscaloosa... state is coming off a tough home loss to texas a&m... quarterback kj costello was benched for freshman will rogers during that one..

Head coach mike leach said after the game that they'd take the bye week to evaluate the position to determine a starter moving forward... he has provided a new update on the job i think they're neck and neck and we will continue to split the reps this week for the first couple of practices.

I don't really like splitting reps with quarterbacks i'd like to settle with one.

I prefer that approach.

We've been awfully up and down so we will wait and see who gives us the best spark ááátake monitorááá saturday's 35-28 loss to auburn was ole miss's third in a row... dropping the rebels to 1-4..

Ole miss took a one point lead late... on the ensuing kickoff it appeared the ball touched auburn's shaun shivers and was recovered by the rebels in the end zone..

By rule that's a touchdown... the ref's said there was no contact and ruled it a touchback... head coach lane kiffin got an explanation from the s-e-c today i really wish for our players and for our fans they could hear what i was just told.

They deserve to, i asked.

They made sure to tell me there's a policy that i can't tell you the players or the fans what they want to call an explanation for that situation was.

Everybody in the country could see that it hit him.

I asked the side judge if i need to review or challenge it and he said they looked at it and there's nothing there.

,.

Week 8 of endzone did not disappoint!

Plenty of big time plays to choose from but only 5 can make the week 8 of endzone did not disappoint!

Plenty of big time plays to choose from but only 5 can make the countdown!

Let's get to it!

#5 houston hilltoppers taking on hately.....redd parker takes the top off the defense with this long bomb for 6 to lavante holmes!!

#4 winona christian versus oak hill.....the stars blake cooper takes the hand off....shakes off 3 tacklers to get into the endzone!!

Stars get the win #3 amory on the road playing booneville....blue devils john deaton....off the back foot....chunks a bomb to carson nash for the huge gain!!!

Blue devils fall in a close on to amory #2 from our game of the week.....noxubee's chrishard rupert scrambles out the pocket....dots up marcardi johnson who dives into the endzone!!

Ref gives the approval....johnso n finishes the game with 2 tds #1 new hope taking on lafayette....trojan s tyquantez crowell gets shifty....keeps the read option....puts on the spin move and breaks another tackle for the 65 yard td!!!!

That's how you make top plays!!!

When we return...chief meteorologist keith gibson will have a last look at your forecast.

You are watching wcbi news at six.