Mayor DuPree releases statement on recent deaths

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The following is a statement from Mayor DuPree's office.

To the Citizens of Hattiesburg and the Pine Belt Area: Our nation has endured three horrible events in less than one week--the senseless murder of citizens in St. Paul, in Baton Rouge, and the ambush of police officers in Dallas.

I am asking the citizens of Hattiesburg and the Pine Belt area to pray for the victims' families, their communities, and for the police officers of those communities. I also want to remind citizens that we are better than the violence we have had to witness.

We cannot and will not become accustomed to violence and fear. As we grieve as a nation, let us continue to talk through our problems, and value each other and the lives of our police officers.

We are one.