By Police1 Staff
MARSHALL COUNTY, Miss. — A deputy who was shot several times Friday was likely saved by his vest.
Suspect Randy Vaught led police on a high-speed pursuit after Deputy Daniel Tatum tried to pull him over after seeing him and two others leave a suspected drug house, WREG reports. Vaught fled to his mother’s house.
When Tatum opened the door to the house, Vaught shot him. Tatum played dead, but Vaught shot him several more times.
Marshall County Sheriff Kenny Dickerson says Tatum was shot three to eight times total, suffering wounds in his chest area, arm and leg.
Vaught barricaded himself inside the house for hours. When he emerged, he pulled out a handgun and fatally shot himself.
Officers were able to get Tatum to a fire station where they airlifted him to a local hospital. Dickerson credits Tatum’s ballistic vest with saving his life.