Authorities say nobody was hurt when a Pike County sheriff’s deputy fired his gun at a fleeing suspect who had drawn his weapon on the lawman Saturday night, Sheriff Wally Jones said.
The suspect was one of four people riding in a stolen truck loaded with firearms and other items that had also been reported stolen. He and one other person remained at large Tuesday while the other two were taken into custody Saturday night, Jones said.
The deputy was in the McDonald’s drive-thru at Love’s Truck Stop when he noticed a vehicle matching the description of one that was reportedly associated with several burglaries in the area.
The deputy tried to stop the vehicle, which fled south to the Magnolia exit then turned onto Muddy Springs Road before wrecking while attempting to turn onto Kennedy Road, Jones said.
“The first subject got out and they pointed a pistol at him,” Jones said.
The deputy responded by firing a single shot.
“He fired a shot and it didn’t hit anybody. The suspect lowered the gun and took off running,” Jones said. He’s just lucky he didn’t get shot.”
Jones said there was no evidence of the deputies round hitting anyone, adding that officers found no blood and made inquiries to hospitals throughout the region to see if anyone had shown up with a gunshot wound.
One of the suspects was apprehended in about 20 minutes and another was taken into custody around 4 a.m. Sunday at the conclusion of an intense manhunt through dark woods that saw a heavy police presence from the sheriff’s department, Magnolia police, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, a K-9 unit from the Tangipahoa Parish, La., Sheriff’s Department and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.
“We had a lot of help,” Jones said.
The sheriff said the truck and its contents had been reported stolen.
“It turns out the truck was stolen out of New Orleans. There were five stolen guns in the vehicle,” Jones said.
He would not identify the two suspects who had been taken into custody, citing the fact that the other two suspects remained at large.
“We are hot on the trail,” he said.
Jones said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which investigates officer-involved shootings, declined to look into this incident since nobody was hurt.
“I’m thankful that nobody was hit. Thank goodness nobody was killed,” he said. “Everything was justified on the deputy’s behalf. He did a phenomenal job.”
Jones said the deputy, who also was not identified, “showed restraint” in the way he handled the situation.
“He really did,” the sheriff said.
Jones said he took the deputy to breakfast after the incident, and the deputy told him, “Sheriff, I was looking at his gun. I saw that gun move every inch. I saw that he put his gun down and I didn’t want to shoot at him again.”
Jones said, “He would have completely justified shooting until it was empty.”
Jones said those connected with the incident face a number of charges, both felonies and misdemeanors, including possession of stolen property, resisting arrest and felony flight. The man who drew his weapon on the deputy also faces a charge of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
He called the suspects’ actions foolish, weighing a jail sentence measured in years at most against the permanence of disability and death.
“You’re playing a game. Just pull over and take your licks, do your time and get on with your life and make something of yourself,” he said.
Jones urged those involved to surrender.
“You know who you are. Please turn yourself in,” he said. “We don’t want anybody to get hurt. We’re not going to stop looking for you. We want to resolve this peacefully.”
And he discouraged others from resorting to pulling a gun on a law enforcement officer.
“You pull a gun on one of our deputies, you can expect to be shot at, and I hope more people will use more common sense in the future,” Jones said. “I do not expect my deputies to stare down the barrel of a gun and not react to it.”
