(AP) — A Harrison County sheriff’s deputy was shot off East Jordan Road near Mississippi 605 on Friday morning, Gulfport Police Sgt. Joshua Bromen confirmed.
The deputy was being airlifted from the scene to be taken to a hospital.
Harrison County blocked off part of Mississippi 605 to allow the ambulance to land. As of 1:30 p.m. Mississippi 605 northbound was still closed.
Multiple law enforcement units are in the area. Harrison County Fire and Biloxi crime scene units also are in the area.
Crime scene tape is stretched across a dirt road that runs south off of East Jordan Road. It runs parallel to Mississippi 605.
Units that were surrounding the area where the helicopter landed left the scene after the helicopter took off. The deputy was taken to USA Medical Center in Mobile.
The suspect fled the scene in a white truck and Gulfport Police Department is assisting in the search.
Law enforcement is looking for an older model white pickup with a white male driver wearing blue jeans.
UPDATE: A bullet-resistant vest protected a Mississippi deputy when someone shot at him.
Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson tells The Sun Herald that the deputy was in a vehicle on the side of a road Friday, doing paperwork, when a man got out of a pickup truck and shot at him.
The sheriff says the bullet did not penetrate the deputy’s vest, but it left a bruise.
Peterson did not immediately release the deputy’s name.
WLOX-TV reports that officers from several law enforcement agencies were searching for the suspected shooter, who got away.