On an early Sunday morning in May 2018, 21-year-old Cortez Denzel Hardy was inside a small home in the 1300 block of South Street in Vicksburg when shots were fired from outside into the residence just before 4:30 a.m. He was struck multiple times; emergency responders took him to Merit Health River Region Medical Center, where he died later that afternoon. Police said the house had clearly been targeted and publicly stated they believed at least two shooters were involved.

Community remembrances describe Cortez as close to his family, a Vicksburg High School student who worked at Church’s Chicken, who loved to read and enjoyed having fun. He was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg. In late April 2019 Vicksburg police announced the arrest of 26-year-old Conti Lashun Tillis, charging him with homicide and shooting into an occupied dwelling in connection with the May 6, 2018 shooting; officers also tied Tillis to a similar early-morning shooting on May 13, 2018 in which no one was injured. Records note the arrest and charges but do not document the final court outcome.

Does anyone have information about that morning on South Street or about Cortez’s life in Vicksburg?