Two Mississippi police officers were shot to death during a routine evening traffic stop turned violent, a state law enforcement spokesman said Sunday. Four suspects were in custody, including two who were charged with capital murder.
The deaths of Officers Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate — the first Hattiesburg police officers to die in the line of duty in more than 30 years— stunned this small city in southern Mississippi.
On Sunday morning, bloodstains still marked the street where the two were shot, and a steady stream of people visited the site to leave flowers or balloons. In the nearby New Hope Baptist Church, worshippers prayed for the fallen officers and their families.
"This should remind us to thank all law enforcement for their unwavering service to protect and serve," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. "May God keep them all in the hollow of his hand."
Marvin Banks, 29, and Joanie Calloway, 22, were each charged with two counts of capital murder, said Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Banks also was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and with grand theft for fleeing in the police cruiser after the shooting, Strain said.
"He absconded with a Hattiesburg police cruiser. He didn't get very far, three or four blocks and then he ditched that vehicle," Strain said.
Banks' 26-year-old brother, Curtis Banks, was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder.
The fourth person, 28-year-old Cornelius Clark, was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice, he added.
All four are expected to make their initial court appearances Monday at the Forest County Justice Court, Strain said. It was not immediately known if they had lawyers.
A preliminary investigation indicated Deen had pulled over the vehicle on suspicion of speeding and then called for backup, which is when Tate arrived. Strain said it was too early to say who shot the officers or how many shots were fired. He said both officers died of their wounds at a hospital.
Local reports identified the 34-year-old Deen as a past department "Officer of the Year," and the 25-year-old Tate was a newcomer to the force who Strain said was a 2014 graduate of the law enforcement academy.
Tate grew up in a tough part of Starkville, 150 miles (240 kilometres) north of Hattiesburg, and decided to become a police officer so he could make a difference in the black community, said Jarvis Thompson, who knew him from childhood in church.
"He wanted to become an officer because we've seen so much of our peers get killed or end up in jail," said Thompson, 24, of Starkville. "He was talking all the time about how he wanted to do better and make the place better."
For many in this small community of Hattiesburg the first death of an officer in the line of duty in three decades was a shock.
Alberta Harris, who heads the Briarfield Neighborhood Association near the shooting site, said she knew both officers, and "both of them had a humble spirit. They cared about the people that they were serving and protecting."
At a news conference, Mayor Johnny DuPree asked the community to pull together.
"We want to ask everybody to pray for these families. We want everybody to pray for police officers not only here but around the United States," DuPree said.
A memorial service is planned for the two officers on Monday.
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Associated Press photographer Rogelio Solis in Hattiesburg and writers Jay Reeves in Hattiesburg, Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans, Bill Cormier and Jeff Martin in Atlanta, and News Research Manager Adriana Mark in New York contributed to this report.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.