Editor’s note: We originally identified the person shot by police as a woman after a misunderstanding of the wording of the press release. The update clarifies that.
UPDATE FROM BYHALIA POLICE:
A Memphis man is dead after an hourslong standoff with law enforcement in Byhalia that began with the shooting death of a woman inside a home.
The Byhalia Police Department says officers responded to a home on Church Street Parkway around 10:06 p.m. Saturday after receiving a report that a woman had been shot and a man was armed inside the residence.
When officers arrived, they helped two adults and a child escape the home and move to a secure location. Police say officers came under fire from a semiautomatic rifle during the response.
Survivors told officers that 47-year-old Russell L. Kelly Jr. of Memphis had shot and killed a woman inside the home, according to police.
The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department sent its SWAT team and negotiators to the scene, while the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department also provided SWAT assistance.
Police say negotiators made repeated attempts to convince Kelly to surrender, but he refused and continued firing at officers.
After nearly 10 hours, authorities say Kelly again fired at officers, resulting in an officer-involved shooting. Kelly was struck and died at the scene.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating the officer-involved shooting, as it does with all such incidents in Mississippi.
Authorities say questions about the incident should be directed to the MBI.
ORIGINAL STORY:
BYHALIA — Mississippi Bureau of Investigation agents are investigating a line of duty shooting involving the Byhalia Police Department and DeSoto County SWAT that left an armed man dead Sunday in Byhalia.
Officers responded to a residence in the area of Church Station Parkway after a woman in the home reported that another woman inside the home had been shot, according to MBI.
When officers arrived, a subject began firing at them, MBI said. Officers requested assistance from the DeSoto County SWAT team.
When SWAT officers arrived, the subject continued firing at law enforcement. An officer then fired a weapon, striking the subject.
The subject was pronounced dead at the scene.
Another occupant of the residence also was found dead, according to MBI.
Authorities did not immediately release the identities of either the alleged shooter or the woman, or provide additional details about the circumstances surrounding the second death.
No law enforcement officers suffered serious physical injuries, MBI said.
MBI agents are investigating the shooting and gathering evidence. Once the investigation is complete, agents will submit their findings to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.
The investigation is ongoing, and the information released by MBI is preliminary and subject to change.
