32°17′51″N 90°12′27″W / 32.29750°N 90.20750°W
Jackson State killings | |
---|---|
Location | Jackson, Mississippi |
Date | May 15, 1970 12:05 a.m. (Central: UTC−6) |
Deaths | 2 |
Injured | 12 |
Victims | Phillip Lafayette Gibbs James Earl Green |
Perpetrators | Jackson Police Department Mississippi Highway Patrol |
The Jackson State killings occurred on Friday, May 15, 1970, at Jackson State College (now Jackson State University) in Jackson, Mississippi. On May 14, 1970, city and state police confronted a group of students outside a campus dormitory. Shortly after midnight, the police opened fire, killing two students and injuring twelve.[1] The event happened 11 days after the Kent State shootings, in which National Guardsmen killed four students at Kent State University in Ohio during a protest against the Vietnam War. The Kent State event had first captured national attention.