A deputy with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Byron Catchings, was shot Friday night while on duty and transported to Jackson for treatment, said Sheriff Steve Rushing.

     Rushing said details remain sketchy, but it appears Catchings was traveling down Union Street in Brookhaven when he was shot once through the driver’s side door near the intersection of Ingram Street at approximately 8 p.m.

     Catchings drove himself from the site of the shooting to Advance Auto Parts on West Monticello Street and radioed in the shooting.

     From there, Catchings was transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

     Before the wounded deputy was transported, Rushing had an opportunity to see Catchings, who was conscious.

     “He was talking to me when I got there,” the sheriff said.

     Catching was apparently shot through the side, but further information on his condition was awaiting his examination in Jackson.

     A person of interest was being interviewed Friday night, Rushing said, but he couldn’t offer any more details on who or how many people may be involved in the shooting.

     Likewise, the cause of the gunfire remains under investigation.

     “At this point it appears he was patrol riding,” Rushing said of Catchings, but couldn’t comment further.

     Since a Lincoln County law enforcement officer is the victim, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is working the case, Rushing said.