A Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was shot in an exchange of gunfire with a suspect Monday morning is in stable condition and doing well, according to Chief Deputy Marc Miley.
Deputy Kevin Forrester was shot twice in the leg at about 10:30 a.m. on Highway 82 near the Alabama state line. The suspect, identified as Pryor Spencer Bailey IV, 45, of Starkville, was killed on scene during the exchange of gunfire, according to Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant.
Bailey led law enforcement officers from at least four different agencies on the chase that originated in Webster County, according to Warren Strain, chief public affairs officer Mississippi Department of Public Safety. The chase ended with a wreck on Highway 82 in Lowndes County, near the Alabama line, at about 10:30 a.m.
The chase began just after 10 a.m. when a Mathiston police officer attempted to pull over Bailey, who was driving a white SUV, on suspicion of a DUI. The suspect fled.
It ended when Bailey drove over spike strips laid by deputies with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office across Highway 82. Bailey exited the disabled vehicle, and he and officers exchanged gunfire, Strain said. Bailey was killed on the scene and Forrester shot.
Forrester was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle with non life-threatening injuries. Miley said he is awake and talking.
Bailey’s body will be taken to the Mississippi Crime Lab in Pearl for autopsy, Strain said.
Authorities initially believed they were chasing two suspects, but there was only one in the vehicle. The chase sometimes exceeded 100 mph, Strain said.
At 10:17, officers with the Columbus Police Department laid spike strips somewhere within the city limits on Highway 82, but the suspect evaded them.
The chase involved law enforcement officers from WCSO, LCSO, Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office and Mississippi Highway Patrol.
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is handling the investigation.
The Dispatch will update this story as more information becomes available.
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