Incident: Shortly after midnight on Monday, September 7, 2026, in the parking lot of Michael Dean’s Convenience Store on Highway 18 near Hermanville, Claiborne County, Mississippi. Reported the same day by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, with Gov. Tate Reeves confirming the deputy’s death Monday morning. Updated Friday, September 18, 2026, after the Mississippi Department of Public Safety announced arrests.
Claiborne County Sheriff’s Deputy Terrian Bailey was shot and killed early Monday while working a large gathering at a convenience store parking lot outside Hermanville.
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Deputies were working to disperse a crowd that had gathered in the parking lot of Michael Dean’s Convenience Store on Highway 18 following a festival when gunfire was directed toward the crowd. Bailey was struck. He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A woman in the crowd was also struck by gunfire. She was taken to a hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening. She has not been identified.
Gov. Tate Reeves said Bailey leaves behind a wife and four children. “This senseless act of violence took the life of a husband, father, and hero,” Reeves said.
The Vicksburg Daily News, citing Claiborne County Coroner Kieon Neal, reported that Bailey was 45. SuperTalk Mississippi reported that he had been with the sheriff’s office for six years. The sheriff’s office has not released his years of service.
Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers and deputies from Adams, Claiborne, Jefferson and Warren counties responded to the scene.
Sheriff Edward L. Goods asked residents to line U.S. Highway 61 on Tuesday as Bailey was brought home. The sheriff’s office said the procession was to travel north on Highway 61 through Port Gibson, turn around at Northside Road and continue south to Barnes Funeral Home, and asked people to bring American flags and stay off the roadway. “Let’s line Highway 61 and welcome Deputy Terrian Bailey home with the honor, dignity, and respect he deserves,” Goods said.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety announced arrests in the case on Friday, September 18, 2026, eleven days after the shooting. Twelve people have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit murder.
Those charged are Adolphous Butler, 26; Zander Cornell Butler, 21; Demond Hunt, 19; Emanuel Jackson, 21; Jordan Lighter, 24; Yehoiada Marshall, 24; Keith Miller, 23; Marqueese Richards, 19; Eli Okonner Robinson, 19; Kearuis Stimage, 24; Alvin Truitt, 20; and Shedrick Wallace, 18.
MDPS Commissioner Sean Tindell said the arrests “reflect the determination and collaboration of law enforcement at every level to pursue justice for Deputy Bailey, his family, and the community he served.” The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service assisted in the investigation.
Investigators have not said whether Bailey was the intended target, and have not released what prompted the gunfire. All twelve appeared in court Tuesday, September 22, and were held without bond. WDAM reported that Judge Price Henley cited a “great deal of violence” in the case, that ten of the twelve are charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit murder, and that two of them — Alvin Truitt and Emanuel Jackson — face murder and aggravated assault without the conspiracy count. Preliminary hearings are tentatively set for October 9 at 1 p.m.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible. The Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office announced the reward Monday night, less than 24 hours after the shooting, and directed tips to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation tip line and to the sheriff’s office. “Someone knows something,” Goods said. “Information from the public could be the missing piece needed to help bring answers and justice.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has taken over the case. MBI said its investigation is ongoing and that agents will turn their findings over to the local district attorney’s office and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office when the investigation is complete.
Sources: Mississippi Bureau of Investigation; Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office; FBI; Office of Gov. Tate Reeves; Mississippi Department of Public Safety; Vicksburg Daily News; SuperTalk Mississippi; WLBT; WXXV News 25; WJTV; Darkhorse Press.
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