A man police called “a significant dealer in the Kings Community” was being sought today in the shooting Thursday night of a man convicted of drug charges in 2009.

Kevin Buck, 26, 20 Water Well Road, is accused of shooting Terry Smith, 210 Winters Lane, about 7 p.m. in the 400 block of Ford Road, police Capt. Bobby Stewart said.

Smith, whose 22nd birthday was Thursday, told police that he was on Ford Road picking up a friend when Buck walked up to his vehicle and began shooting. Smith’s 2004 Ford Windstar was struck multiple times, Stewart said.

Several .357-caliber bullet casings were found on Ford Road where the shooting occurred, Stewart said.

Smith, who was shot once in the back, drove to his home and called 911. He was taken to River Region Medical Center where he was treated and released, Stewart said.

The victim told police he did not know why Buck started shooting at him, Stewart said.

Smith was arrested in 2008 and charged with sale and possession of cocaine. In August 2009, he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and was sentenced by Circuit Judge Isadore Patrick to 321 days in jail followed by five years of probation.

Buck is the uncle of 4-year-old Arkeevian Warfield who was struck in January by four bullets in a drive-by shooting at a home shared by 20 people. The suspect in that shooting is still at large.

“I do not believe the shootings are related,” Stewart said.

Buck was convicted of robbery and armed robbery in 2002, according to court records. He was arrested in April 2010 by Vicksburg police for sale of cocaine but has not been indicted. After that arrest Stewart said police believe Buck to be “a significant dealer in the Kings Community.”

Separately, a Warren County grand jury declined to indict Buck in 2010 for a 2009 shooting.

The section of Ford Road where the shooting occurred is filled mostly with abandoned, burned or partially demolished houses too flood-damaged to repair.

“There ain’t but two of us here,” said John Jones as he pointed to his next-door neighbor’s house.

Because of the large number of abandoned houses, the street is a haven for drug and gang activity, Jones said.

Jones sat on the concrete steps of a burned-out house across the street from his own smoking a cigarette with his sister, Patricia Albert, as they watched police gather bullet casings and sift through thick shards of black tinted glass.

Water was up to the ceiling of Jones’ home of 50 years during the spring flood of 2011, but he refused to leave.

He has been slowly renovating it since, but Thursday’s shooting might be what makes him finally pack up for good, he said.

“I don’t know if it’s safe to stay here,” Jones said. “I wish I would have left.”

Jones and Albert said they heard at least six shots fired about between 7 and 7:30 p.m. Jones was inside his house, while Albert was around the corner in her car on the way to visit her brother. Neither of them saw the shooting or anyone fleeing.