A gunman opened fire at a Gulfport AT&T store Monday morning, killing an employee and a customer before being apprehended, according to authorities.
Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer named the victims as Shane Basquill, 31, a store clerk from Kiln, and Mary Anne Oberlies, 78, a customer from Gulfport. Both died at the scene.
According to the Gulfport Police Department, officers responded to the Crossroads Mall around 11:14 a.m. Witnesses saw a man, identified by authorities as 71-year-old Samuel Jerome Andrews of Harrison County, pull up to the kerb, exit his vehicle with a shotgun, and fire through the front glass door.
Once inside, Andrews allegedly opened fire on the victims. Three other individuals inside the business escaped injuries and called 911 with a description of the suspect’s vehicle.
Responding officers noticed Andrews fleeing the area and performed a traffic stop, arresting him without incident and finding a handgun.
Andrews was booked into the Harrison County Adult Detention Centre, where he is being held without bond on two counts of first-degree murder and a $500,000 bond for shooting into a crowd.
Police said the investigation is still ongoing, and no motive has been revealed.
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