Mississippi Police Officer Saved by Ballistic Vest

MERIDIAN, Mississippi -- The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating a Sunday morning officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of an unnamed suspect.

The man, who fired at least three shots at a Meridian Police officer, was shot and killed during an exchange of gunfire, Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler said. The officer’s injuries were not life-threatening, as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.

Cobler said the incident occurred about 1:45 a.m., in the 3600 block of Poplar Springs Drive.

The officer was believed to be at the scene investigating a crime.

“[The officer] took two in the chest and [a bullet] grazed his leg,” Cobler said. “The vest caught the two in the chest.”

Police on Sunday morning said the officer went to the hospital and was released soon after.

Cobler described the suspect as a white man in his 30s, approximately 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds.

No further details were available.

While it’s policy for most law enforcement agencies to place officers on administrative leave in an officer-involved shooting situation, nothing could be confirmed at the time of this report.

In 2017, there have been at least two officer-involved shootings in the Lauderdale County area. The most recent occurred in August and involved a sheriff’s deputy at a home on Fred Haguewood Road.

According to Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie, Maj. John Calhoun fatally shot Jeremy Douglas Gabrial, 31, during a disturbance on Aug. 4.

The day of the incident, Sollie said Gabrial was “raising the gun in a threatening manner,” which prompted Calhoun to fire his weapon “to protect himself.”

Cobler said Gabrial was taken to Anderson Regional Medical Center, where he later died from gunshot wounds to the neck and chest.

Sollie said a body cam and a dash cam were active when the incident occurred. Footage of the incident were given to the MBI, along with the E-911 call and a log of past incidents at the residence.

Calhoun was placed on administrative leave following the incident, but he has since been reinstated.

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©2017 The Meridian Star (Meridian, Miss.)

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