Mississippi deputy, suspect shot to death as traffic stop leads to chase, sheriff says

A Mississippi deputy and his apparent killer are both dead after the deputy was shot during a traffic stop in George County in southeastern Mississippi Thursday afternoon.

Jackson County (Miss.) Sheriff John Ledbetter issued a release on the incident on behalf of George County Sheriff Mitchell Mixon.

In the release, Ledbetter said the shooting occurred in on Mississippi Highway 98 near the intersection of Brushy Creek Road — about seven miles from the Mississippi-Alabama state line.

Although not mentioned in the release, a Dollar General store sits at that location and the store’s parking lot is the only available place where a traffic stop could have been conducted.

According to Ledbetter, George County Deputy Jeremy Malone was shot and killed during the traffic stop about 5:15 p.m. Thursday.

According to his social media profile, Malone attended both Perry Central High School in Perry County, Miss., and East Central High School in Hurley, Miss., and later the Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Academy. He was married.

The suspect, according to the release, fled the scene and led other law enforcement officers and agencies on a pursuit and was shot and killed when the pursuit ended in Perry County. Ledbetter said the suspect’s identity would be released later.

“We ask that you keep Deputy Malone’s family, as well as the George County Sheriff’s Office and community, in your thoughts and prayers,” Ledbetter wrote at the end of the release.

The incident is being investigated by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. Other details were not released.