By Josh Troy
Clarksdale Advocate
Delta Blues Alley Cafe owners JeCorry Miller and Adhel Henderson wanted to correct an injustice against their business. Multiple shootings occurred on the morning of May 21. The first shootings were on the 300 block of Delta Avenue. A second shooting shortly followed on West Second Street, and a third shooting occurred on Friars Point Road near Florence Avenue. None of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening.
Misconceptions about how the shootings started occurred. While Miller’s and Henderson’s business is on the 300 block of Delta Avenue, Delta Blues Alley Cafe, along with the other establishments on the street, had nothing to do with the shooting. “My business, Delta Blues Alley Cafe, has been the subject of a hit job,” said Miller in a video on Monday, clarifying that Delta Blues Alley Cafe had no part in the shootings.
Miller said the shootings were a “true tragedy for our city,” but Delta Blues Alley Cafe was closed prior to anything taking place. The Clarksdale Police Department report did mention Delta Blues Alley Cafe. It only said shootings occurred on the 300 block of Delta Avenue. Miller and Henderson confirmed that Delta Blues Alley Cafe closed at 2 a.m. on May 21, approximately 45 minutes before the shootings took place.
“My little bitty business probably had about 10 customers the whole day, and none of them were out,” said Miller in the video. “After 2 a.m., I go home.”
“I’m having to correct an injustice,” continued Miller in the video. Miller also said he was trying to “right a wrong.” Clarksdale Police Chief Robbie Linley did provide a report during the Board of Mayor and Commissioners meeting following the shootings.
“We do believe that this shooting occurred from an altercation that occurred at a concert in the City of Clarksdale Saturday evening and into the early morning hours of Sunday,” said Linley at the meeting. Linley also said at the meeting that he believes the altercation was between suspected gang members from Tunica and Coahoma counties, which spilled over into the shootings.
