MS Woman Kayla Gates ID’d In Wednesday Verona Murder-Suicide Markel Weeks Deceased Shooter

VERONA, MS. (THECOUNT) — A woman was shot and killed and a man died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound early Wednesday morning in what authorities are investigating as a murder-suicide following a domestic disturbance call in Verona, Mississippi. Makayla Gates and Markel Weeks were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Gates was 32. Weeks was 28.

Verona police officers responded to the 100 block of Clement Circle at approximately 1:08 a.m. Wednesday after receiving a call reporting a domestic disturbance and possible gunfire. Upon arrival, officers found Gates deceased with two gunshot wounds. Weeks was found dead from what the Verona Police Department described as two self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Lee County Coroner Carolyn Green identified both individuals and confirmed their deaths.

The Verona Police Department stated there is no ongoing threat to the public and that the incident appeared to be isolated. The investigation remains active. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Verona Police Department.

Notably, the Clement Circle shooting was the second violent incident Verona officers responded to in less than 24 hours. A separate shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon in Verona, wounding one person. That investigation is also ongoing. The back-to-back incidents have drawn renewed attention to gun violence in the small northeast Mississippi community.

Verona is a small city of approximately 3,200 residents in Lee County in northeast Mississippi, situated just south of Tupelo along U.S. Highway 45. It lies within the Tupelo Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses Lee, Pontotoc, and Union counties and has a combined population of roughly 170,000. Tupelo, the Lee County seat and the region’s commercial hub, sits approximately four miles north of Verona and is best known nationally as the birthplace of Elvis Presley. North Mississippi Medical Center, the region’s primary trauma facility, is located in Tupelo and serves as the main hospital for Lee County and surrounding communities.

Domestic violence remains a persistent and deadly problem across Mississippi. The state has consistently ranked among the highest in the nation for domestic violence-related homicides, according to data compiled by the Violence Policy Center. Women in Mississippi are disproportionately represented among domestic violence fatalities, and the majority of those deaths involve firearms. Advocates note that rural and small-town communities across the state often face acute shortages of domestic violence shelter capacity, crisis intervention services, and mental health resources — a combination that can leave victims with few safe options when a situation escalates.

The Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence operates a 24-hour statewide hotline at 1-800-898-3234 and can connect callers with local shelter and crisis resources anywhere in the state. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is also available around the clock at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or by texting START to 88788.

The Verona Police Department urges anyone with information about either shooting to come forward. No additional suspects are being sought in the Clement Circle incident at this time.

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