Mississippi sheriff's deputy shot, killed while responding to domestic call: 'Died a hero'

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A Mississippi community is mourning the loss of a sheriff's deputy after he was shot and killed while responding to a domestic call Sunday evening.

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones identified the slain deputy as 37-year-old Martin Shields, Jr., in a Facebook post.

Shields had been with the Hinds County Sheriff's Office for about nine months, but "his law enforcement career extends beyond being employed with the HCSO," the sheriff said. Memorial posts on social media showed previous employment with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the Jackson Police Department.

Shields' father retired from HCSO as a captain, according to the Jackson Fallen Firefighters Memorial Foundation.

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Hinds County Sheriff's Deputy Martin Shields, Jr., 37, (pictured above during his tenure at the Jackson, Mississippi, Police Department) was shot and killed while responding to a domestic call on Sunday. (City of Jackson - Government / Facebook)

Limited details are available, but Jones had said a couple of hours earlier that there was a "very serious situation" taking place in the 15000 block of Midway Road in Terry, Mississippi, which is approximately 15 miles southwest of Jackson.

Two deputies, Shields and an unidentified Hinds County deputy, were responding to a domestic call at a residence at the aforementioned address. Jones said he heard the other deputy come across the radio calling for "shots fired" and made his way to the scene on Midway Road. 

A "Be On the Lookout" alert was issued Sunday evening for Eric Brown, 42, who was "wanted for questioning regarding the situation on Midway Road" and was considered armed and dangerous. The alert was canceled sometime before 10 p.m. when police said there was no longer an active threat.

A Facebook post made at about 10:19 p.m. Sunday announced the deputy's death and also said an "unidentified Black male subject believed to be related to the call" was found dead inside the home on Midway Road. That person was identified as Brown on Monday and his cause of death is under investigation, according to the Hinds County Sheriff's Office.

Brown is suspected to be responsible for Shields' death, Jones said on Monday. A woman identified as Brown's wife was also shot, as well as another woman – who wasn't identified in any way – at the scene. Both women are in stable condition.

Eric Brown, 42, was the subject of a "Be On the Lookout" alert on Sunday after a Hinds County sheriff's deputy was shot and killed while responding to a domestic call. (Hinds County Sheriff's Office)

The investigation into the shooting remains active and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is assisting.

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Jones wrote a heartfelt tribute to Shields on his professional Facebook page early Monday morning, sharing that the two men had just responded to a capsized boat together earlier in the day. He said that while he was responding to the "shots fired" call, he paged Shields several times with no answer.

"The deputy who called ‘shots fired’ was in survival mode due to the situation but still performed very heroic acts. My heart sank as I rushed to the scene, not getting a response from the fallen deputy. Just prior to my arrival, I learned that he had been shot and was obviously deceased," Jones wrote, adding there was an "outpouring of support" at the scene.

He said Shields "died a hero" and "while responding to a call for service to assist someone in need."

"He fulfilled his assignment and his God-given mission on earth. Pray for his family, his friends, the many lives he touched, and the men and women of the HCSO as we all prepare for a final salute," he wrote. "There’s absolutely no way I could ever imagine or prepare to tell a family their deputy will not be coming home from their tour of duty. However, tragically, I found myself in that situation late this evening."

Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones wrote a heartfelt tribute to slain Deputy Martin Shields, Jr., saying that he "died a hero" and "while responding to a call for service to assist someone in need." (Running 4 Heroes/Facebook)

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Shields' death marks the latest killing in a deadly weekend for law enforcement across the country.

Two Virginia Beach police officers died Saturday morning after they were both shot while conducting a traffic stop late Friday night.

In Pennsylvania, West York Borough Patrolman Andrew Duarte was shot and killed while responding to an active shooter at UPMC Memorial Hospital on Saturday morning.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones.