Officials: No proof of assailant shooting Mississippi deputy
Published 11:53 pm Friday, August 18, 2017
GULFPORT (AP) — Officials say there’s no proof that anyone else was present when a Mississippi Gulf Coast sheriff’s deputy was shot at in July.
The deputy had told officials that a man exited a pickup truck and shot him. The unnamed deputy told officials that he and the assailant struggled over the deputy’s gun.
Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson told reporters Friday that Biloxi crime scene investigators found no physical evidence of an assailant and closed their inquiry. Peterson isn’t saying whether investigators believe the deputy shot himself.
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain says physical evidence shows the deputy’s gun fired the shot that hit him in the chest, where he was protected by a bulletproof vest. He says MBI continues investigating. Peterson says the deputy remains on paid leave.