NATCHEZ — Police have linked an early Sunday morning drive-by-shooting into a Dumas Drive residence to the Saturday night murder of 25-year-old Walter Washington outside the Natchez Mall.

Residents were not at home during the shooting at 1:45 a.m. on the 100-block of Dumas Drive, a Natchez Police report says, and no one was injured.

A resident of the house reportedly told police she and her son left the house that night intentionally because “they expected something like (the drive-by shooting) to happen,” the report says.

Bullets reportedly struck and damaged a front window, sofa and fish tank, although police discovered no shell casings at the scene, the report says.

Natchez Police Department Investigator Lt. Craig Godbold said police believe Washington’s murder was intended as retaliation for the February shooting at Club Paradise of Calvin Matthews, for which Washington was charged.

Matthews was hospitalized for more than a week for two gunshot wounds to the chest, one to the lower torso and one to the leg.

Washington was arrested March 24 in New Orleans approximately one month after the Club Paradise shooting. He was indicted and released from jail Aug. 9 on the aggravated assault charges on a $75,000 bond.

Godbold said police have linked Saturday’s murder, Sunday’s shooting, the February shooting at Club Paradise, as well as other shooting incidents that occurred in 2008.

“All of the shootings will be related,” Godbold said.

Police are questioning residents of the Dumas Drive residence but have not named a murder suspect, Godbold said. And the investigation has yet to determine if more than one suspect was involved.

“There’s been a longstanding dispute between the (murder victim) and some of the (Dumas Drive residents),” Godbold said.

Godbold said police are questioning people connected to possible suspects in the shooting, as well as witnesses who happened to be at the mall when the incident occurred.

Since the shooting occurred approximately at the same time the mall closed, many passersby saw what happened while walking to their cars from work, Godbold said.

“We know of a lot of people who saw what went down,” Godbold said.

“Now we’ve just got parts of the puzzle and are just putting it together a piece at the time.”

Anyone with information regarding the fatal shooting should call Crime Stoppers at 601-442-5000.