According to police, a dispute over a cell phone led to the fatal shooting in which an 18-year-old from Mississippi was killed and three others injured in Vicksburg on Sunday evening.

Tavon Cain, 18, of Vicksburg, was charged with first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault after 18-year-old Korey Sims Jr. was shot and three others were wounded. Cain, of 30 Whipperwill Drive, appeared in Warren District Court Tuesday, where Judge Marcie Southerland denied bail pending a hearing. The shooting occurred Sunday evening at 118 Abraham Drive.

During the hearing, Lt. Stacy Rollison, chief of investigations for the Warren County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO), testified that officers responded to a report of a stolen vehicle involving Cain at 7:50 p.m. on Sunday. The vehicle and Cain were located on Whipperwill Drive. Cain’s parents stated that he took the car without permission because his cell phones had previously been stolen at the Circle K.

At 9:35 p.m., a shooting call was reported in Abraham Drive, and an iPhone matching Cain’s was found damaged at the scene. Investigator Dusty Keyes attempted to confirm Cain’s presence in Whipperwill during the shooting, but determined that Cain had left because of death threats. His mother later admitted that Cain had left to confront someone about the stolen phone.

Cain used the Find My iPhone app to trace the phone to Abraham Drive. At noon Monday, he voluntarily went to the sheriff’s office, requested an attorney and was arrested. Rollison noted that no shell casings were found at the scene, but a .223mm bullet from an AR-15 rifle was found. The injured victims, identified as Travis Malone, Kedavian Catchings and Montreal Harris, were treated at local hospitals.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said the investigation is ongoing, but Cain is believed to be the lone shooter in the county’s second homicide in 2024.