A Covington County deputy was shot Monday afternoon near Greer’s CashSaver in Mount Olive, and authorities said the deputy was suffering life-threatening injuries. The shooting happened at the supermarket at 406 Main Street, drawing a fast-moving response from county, state and federal law enforcement.
Smith County Sheriff Joel Houston said the deputy was shot above the vest under the arm, a wound that still left the deputy in critical condition. Houston said state and federal agencies were helping search for a possible suspect as the case remained active late Monday.
The response widened quickly. Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel said deputies were heading to the scene with the SRT Team and K-9 units, while the Jones County Sheriff’s Department said it had deputies, investigators and narcotics agents at the scene in Mount Olive to assist with the manhunt.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also asked for the public’s prayers for the deputy on Facebook, underscoring how quickly the shooting became a statewide law enforcement emergency. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was contacted for information about the incident, and officials had not identified the deputy by name in the public updates.
The immediate question now is whether investigators can find the suspect before the search widens further. For Mount Olive, the shooting at Greer’s CashSaver turned an ordinary Monday afternoon into a coordinated manhunt centered on one critically wounded deputy and a still-unknown gunman.
