Domestic dispute leads to fatal shootings at Shannon convenience store

SHANNON, MISS. (WCBI) – Two people are dead after a shooting inside a Shannon convenience store early Thursday morning.

Investigators said a domestic argument led to the shooting at Grigg’s Gas and Grocery on Old Highway 45. The store was full of customers, including a Shannon police officer, when chaos broke out.

The front door at Grigg’s Gas and Grocery was covered to hide the gruesome scene inside.

Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said about 6 a.m. a woman came inside the store. She bought some food and went to her car but, in a panic, moments later came running back inside.

“At that particular time she was hollering for help, made statement someone trying to harm her,” described Sheriff Johnson.

Johnson said seconds later, the woman’s boyfriend walked in the store. The woman hid behind a Shannon police officer, who was at the counter buying coffee.

Deputies believe the suspect pulled a gun and reached around the officer, who had his arm extended trying to hold the suspect at bay.

“Fired several shots, it was fatal to the female who had previously came into the store.  At that particular time, the police officer returned fire, and it was a fatal shot that took out the suspect who came in and did the shooting,” said Sheriff Johnson.

Throughout the morning, authorities interviewed witnesses, customers and employees who were inside the store when the shooting started.

Everything was caught on security cameras, from the time the suspect came in the store and started shooting, to the time, seconds later, when the Shannon police officer stopped the threat.

“Certainly the presence of the officer being there, reacting in the way he did, minimized what could have possibly happened,” said Sheriff Johnson.

As investigators documented the crime scene and collected evidence, additional officers were called to keep the peace between family members of the victim and suspect.  The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is handling the case .

No one else in the store was harmed.  Employees said they have seen both the suspect and victim in the store in the past.