2 police officers shot dead in Mississippi, suspect in custody

Two police officers were killed in a shootout early Saturday in Mississippi, police said.

Officers James White, 35, and Zack Moak, 31, were killed while responding to a call about 5 a.m. for shots fired in the small city of Brookhaven, south of the state capital of Jackson, authorities said.

Brookhaven Police Dept/odmp.org

Upon the officers’ arrival at the scene, there was an exchange of gunfire between them and one or more suspects, Brookhaven police said in a news conference.

White and Moak were both mortally wounded, police said.

A suspect, identified as Marquis Flowers, 25, was wounded and taken to a Jackson hospital, where he is being treated and is in police custody, police said.

Authorities would not comment on his injuries.

Brookhaven Police Chief Kenneth Collins expressed sympathy to the officers’ families.

“It’s just heartbreaking for us to get out here and do our day-to-day job and have to face all the things that’s against us,” Collins said at the news conference. “I just want y’all to know these are two awesome people that lost their lives in the line of duty, and they’re both heroes.”

Collins said the department has both body and dashboard cameras for officers but it is unclear if they were in use during the shooting incident Saturday.