MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating after an officer-involved shooting in north Mississippi.
It happened on Highway 51 in Coldwater, near State Highway 306 around 10 a.m. and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is working the investigation.
District Attorney John Champion says both the officer and the suspect were hit by gunfire. The officer was hit in the head but has been since released from the hospital.
“…Fate was on his side,” Champion said during a press conference. “That’s all I can say at this point. The good lord was not ready to take him today.”
The suspect was transported to the Regional Medical Center and is in critical condition.
Investigators say it began while the officer was working a routine traffic stop. The suspect pulled up in front of the car the officer had stop and he got out of his vehicle and approached the officer with a knife.
The officer told the suspect to get away. The suspect went back to the truck, pulled out a gun and fired shots at the officer. The officer then fired back and the suspect was injured. The suspect got back in the truck and drove off, eventually running off the road a quarter mile up the road.
Champion says this type of thing rarely happens in Coldwater. “A lot doesn’t happen here and when you see something of this magnitude happen, it really makes you think no place is safe from things like his happening.”
Investigators have not identified the officer or the suspect but say the suspect is 22 years old and from Tate County.
This is a developing story. Stay with WREG for updates while the investigation continues.