Gun Store Shootout In Mississippi: Shop Owner, Son Dead After Dispute With Customers
A gun store shootout in Mississippi on Saturday left the shop owner and son dead after an argument with two customers. The shooting occurred around 3:15 p.m. at a store on Mississippi Highway 43 north of Picayune in Pearl River County.
As reported by Fox News, the owner of McLemore Gun Shop, Jason McLemore, 44, and his 17-year-old son Jacob were fatally shot after a disagreement with two customers over a $25 service charge. The two were pronounced dead by officials at the scene.
Police say that Audy McCool, 52, and his son, Michael McCool, walked into the gun store to pick up a weapon left previously to be repaired. After being told the firearm was not ready, one of the customers became angry that he had paid the repair fee but could not get the gun yet.
The owner’s wife was in the store when one of the unruly customers began to dispute the $25 fee. Wanting to clear up the dispute, Mrs. McLemore called her husband, who later arrived with his son. A heated argument quickly broke out.
“During this argument, we believe there might have been some pushing and shoving,” Pearl River County Chief Deputy Shane Tucker told the Sun Herald. “One of the customers and one of the owners produced firearms. We don’t know who shot first.”
By the time it was over, all four men had been shot. Mrs. McLemore was not injured.
According to local TV station WLOX, Michael McCool allegedly shot both the father and son using a 40-caliber pistol, although this has not been verified by police. Reportedly, Jason McLemore was pulling out a 9mm handgun when he was shot.
Michael McCool was airlifted to a medical facility in New Orleans, while his father was sent to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Both received life-threatening injuries from the gun store shootout.
As of Sunday morning, Michael McCool was in stable condition after undergoing surgery. There is currently no update on Audy McCool’s condition as yet according to authorities.
Those in the community who knew the elder McLemore described him as a “kind and fair person.” Many in the area brought guns to him for repairs and are in shock that he is now dead.
Just this past November, another Mississippi community was stunned from a shooting by a customer after an argument with an employee. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Johnny Max Mount was in a Biloxi Waffle House when an employee asked him to put out his cigarette.
After arguing about the restaurant’s no smoking policy, Mount decided to put out a concealed 9mm handgun and shoot 57-year-old Julia Brightwell in the head. Immediately after and without further incident, police arrested Mount and charged him with first-degree murder.
After working at the Highway 90 Waffle House for over eight years, Brightwell was pronounced dead a few miles away at Merit Health Biloxi.
Authorities do not know why 45-year-old Mount decided to shoot the long-time Waffle house server. According to those who knew him, he was not a monster but think a traumatic brain injury from a 2002 traffic accident may have had something to do with it.
“He was a good person,” said Rebecca Berry, a friend of Mount’s family. “He wasn’t a monster. I don’t know, something just snapped. I don’t know of any other volatile things that he’s ever done.”
The Pearl River County gun shop where the shootout on Saturday took place is currently closed while the case is being investigated. No charges have been filed as of yet.
It is not currently known if the two families knew each other prior to the incident.
“It’s still under investigation. There will be lots of work to sift through the evidence collected and statements and see where that steers the investigation,” Tucker said. “That will be done in the following weeks and months.”
[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
