One person dead after Pascagoula home invasion

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WLOX) - One person is dead after what police are calling a home invasion that occurred shortly before noon on Tuesday in Pascagoula.

According to Pascagoula Police, the homeowner said he shot the armed suspect who was burglarizing his home on Nathan Hale Avenue. Authorities pronounced the suspect dead at the scene.

The identities of both people involved have not yet been released. However, Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd confirmed that the homeowner is an employee at the coroner’s office.

He also noted that the Harrison County coroner was called in, due to a conflict of interest with the Jackson County coroner’s office.

“Once we got the notification that it was one of our employees that was the victim, and we were notified of the death at the scene,” Lynd said. "We thought it best to prevent there from being a conflict of interest. We go ahead and notify the neighboring county, have that coroner come in and do the death investigation, so that it was thorough, preventing any conflicts of interest. "

Pascagoula Police are handling the criminal investigation. At this time, no charges have been filed against the homeowner.

According to Lynd, the homeowner has been an employee of the coroner’s office for many years, assisting with transport. He is in the process of being appointed as one of the two deputy coroners Lynd will appoint but has not yet completed the process.

Lynd took over as the county coroner on Jan. 1 after being elected in November. He replaces Vicki Broadus, who retired after years as coroner in Jackson County.

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