A Covington County deputy was shot near Greer’s CashSaver in Mount Olive on Monday afternoon, and the search for a possible suspect quickly pulled in local, state and federal law enforcement. Joel Houston said the deputy suffered life-threatening injuries after being hit above the vest under the arm.
The shooting happened at 406 Main Street, turning a supermarket parking area into the center of an urgent manhunt as officers fanned out across town. Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel said deputies were headed 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 there to help.
For people nearby, the scene was impossible to miss. A witness, identified as Angela, said she could hear shots possibly being fired while she was at home and saw an ambulance and police tape “everywhere.”
A viewer photo added another unsettling detail: it showed a person walking toward a wooded area near a home shortly after shots were fired. Authorities, though, had only said they were searching for a possible suspect, leaving open whether the person in the image was the one they were after or whether anyone had been taken into custody.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also posted on Facebook asking for prayers for the deputy, underscoring how quickly the shooting in Mount Olive Ms became a statewide concern. For now, the only confirmed next step is the search itself, and the central unanswered question is whether investigators will identify the person seen heading toward the trees before the manhunt closes in.
