The suspect in a Copiah County shooting death was apprehended Friday afternoon in Meridian, officials said.

Lawrence County resident Christopher Michael Smith, 38 was taken into custody in connection with the shooting death of Nakissa Benson, 38, of Monticello. Benson’s body was found Tuesday in a field on Monticello Road in Copiah County.

Copiah County Chief Deputy Derrick Cubit said earlier on Friday that the Copiah County Sheriff’s Department had issued a warrant for the arrest of Smith.

Previously a “person of interest” in the case, Smith was upgraded to a suspect in the shooting.

Cubit said the sheriff’s office received a call around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday reporting that there was a body lying in the field.

When officers arrived, they found a black 2008 Pontiac stopped in the roadway with the driver’s side door open, Cubit said. There appeared to be gunshots in the driver’s side door, and in the field along the wood line a woman’s body was found in close proximity to the vehicle.

Further information on the arrest was unavailable at press time Saturday.