Mississippi Deputy Shot, Saved by Body Armor

The sheriff said Deputy Tatum played dead but that Vaught walked up to him and shot him several more times in the chest area. Dickerson estimated Tatum was shot three to eight times total with wounds in the chest area, an arm and a leg.

A Marshall County, MS, sheriff's deputy was shot and saved by his ballistic vest Friday. The suspect barricaded himself inside a house, then came out, and killed himself in front of law enforcement.

Marshall County Sheriff Kenny Dickerson said deputies pulled over a car driven by Randy Vaught, 33, around 6:15 p.m. after he and two other people were seen leaving a suspected drug house.

Dickerson said Deputy Daniel Tatum asked for Vaught's license and insurance, but Vaught didn’t have either and led deputies on a high-speed chase to his mother's house.

Once at the house, Dickerson said Vaught's two companions fled and Vaught entered the house through a back door. When Deputy Tatum opened the door to follow Vaught, Dickerson said Vaught shot him.

The sheriff said Tatum played dead but that Vaught walked up to him and shot him several more times in the chest area. Dickerson estimated Tatum was shot three to eight times total with wounds in the chest area, an arm and a leg.

The deputy was airlifted to Memphis for medical care, WREG reports. Sheriff Dickerson said the deputy was saved by his body armor.

Dickerson said Vaught was already out of jail on a $100,000 bond for statutory rape at the time of Friday's shooting.

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