Detectives kept busy Friday as they investigated the midnight shooting death of a McComb man on Summit Street, with heavily armed officers coming up empty-handed after storming an apartment in search of a suspect later that afternoon.
Timothy Jones, 23, of 122 Denwiddie Ave., was found at the northern terminus of Summit Street near Morris Davis Road and Higgins Drive early Friday morning.
Jones suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died later that day, police said.
Dispatchers received a call alerting officers to the scene at 12:36 a.m. Friday. Upon arrival, several bystanders looked on and one person was attempting to administer medical aid to Jones, police said.
Police identified two suspects wanted for first-degree murder in the case but had not made an arrest or released their names by late Friday.
If there were any witnesses, they did not immediately come forward to provide information, police said.
At about 1:20 p.m. Friday, four police cars were seen streaking toward east McComb with lights flashing. A large group of law enforcement officials, including police, detectives, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation officials and the U.S. Marshal’s service responded to the Community Park Apartments.
“Request permission to enter,” one officer said over police radio.
“You’ve got permission to enter,” another officer replied.
Officers were heavily armed in their attempt to make contact with one of two suspects in the Summit Street slaying.
Dozens of residents gathered around in front of neighboring apartments as patrol cars blocked streets around the unit where the suspect was believed to be holed up in Unit 23A.
A woman believed to be related to one of the suspects frantically pleaded with police not to use excessive force.
“He’s not armed!” she yelled.
With pistols shotguns and semi-automatic rifles drawn, police eventually entered the apartment and exited minutes later without making an arrest.
“We’re just following up on leads,” Police Chief Damian Gatlin said as officers prepared to leave the scene.
After about an hour, police left the apartment complex. .
After making the attempt to contact one of the suspects in the alleged shooting, police maintained a presence in the vicinity of the apartment complex to monitor the crowd that had aggregated.
