HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Two suspects were taken into custody Sunday after two police officers were shot and killed during a traffic stop in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Forrest County Coroner Butch Benedict confirmed that both officers had died at Forrest General Hospital. Benedict identified the officers as Benjamin Deen, 34, of the Sumrall area and Liquori Tate, 25, of Hattiesburg.
Hattiesburg Police Department spokesman Lt. Jon Traxler said police were seeking Curtis Banks and Marvin Banks as suspects in the shooting that took place shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of East Fourth and Bouie Street.
The two suspects, who are brothers, were taken into custody and questioned early Sunday morning at the Mississippi Highway Patrol headquarters off U.S. 49 in the Hattiesburg-Forrest County Industrial Park.
"The men and women who go out every day to protect us, the men and women who go out every day to make sure that we're safe, they were turned on (Saturday) night," Mayor Johnny DuPree said during a brief news conference outside the hospital. "But the person or persons who did this are not safe in the City of Hattiesburg (Saturday night).
"Multiple law enforcement agencies swarmed to the scene between Gordon Street and East Fourth Street, crisscrossing throughout the fringes of downtown.
At least one of the suspects took a patrol car from the scene before abandoning it just a few blocks away on the train tracks off Gordon Street. The patrol car and the suspects' vehicle were both taken to Highway Patrol headquarters early Sunday.
Hattiesburg residents Tamika Mills and Pearnell Roberts discovered the two officers who had been shot. The pair got out to check on the officers and called 911.
"Never in my life have I experienced or seen anything like this except on TV and to be in the midst of it, it's shocking and heartbreaking," Mills said. "As we were coming down Fourth Street, we noticed a bunch of lights. As we came on through, (Roberts) told me to turn around because she saw somebody laying on the ground.
"So I backed up. That's when we noticed the officer was down. We just saw that one, but in the course of me being on the phone with 911, I turned and I saw another officer across the street rolling on the ground. (Roberts) ran across the street to check on him. He wasn't all the way alert but he asked her, 'Am I dying? I know I'm dying. Just hand me my walkie-talkie.' "
It marked the first time a Hattiesburg police officer had been killed in the line of duty since Jackie Dole Sherrill was shot on New Year's Eve in 1984.
"Thirty years ago was the last time that this has happened in Hattiesburg, and we've had a lot to happen over the past 15 years with tornadoes and storms," DuPree said. "But you never want this to happen."
Maj. Hardy Sims said two cars had been at the scene, with one unit making the stop and another coming to back the first unit.
At his news conference shortly after 10 p.m., DuPree confirmed that one officer had died and that a second was in serious condition. About 15 minutes later, Benedict confirmed that the second officer had passed away.
"People who believe in prayer, who believe in the power of prayer, I'd ask them to pray for the family members," DuPree said.
At a glance
Hattiesburg police killed in the line of duty
•Officer Jessie James Everett, killed by gunfire March 9, 1952, while investigating a burglary at Ace Weathers Motor Co.
•Officer M.W. Vinson Jr., killed by gunfire March 9, 1952, while investigating a burglary at Ace Weathers Motor Co.
•Sgt. David Anthony, killed by gunfire May 23, 1973, while responding to an alarm call at Citizens National Bank on Broadway Drive
•Sgt. Jackie Dole Sherrill, killed by gunfire Dec. 31, 1984, while serving a warrant on Eastside Avenue
