A Mississippi teenager allegedly broke into an elderly couple’s home and killed them before sparking a standoff with police, investigators say.
Cordarius Hobbs, 17, allegedly broke into the Mendenhall, Mississippi, home of 74-year-old Billy Blair and his 71-year-old wife Virginia Carol Blair and killed them on June 3, WLBT reported.
Deputies with the Simpson County Sheriff’s Office were called to the couple’s home at around 12:24 p.m. on June 3 after family members couldn’t reach the couple. Once at the house, according to officials, the deputies were met with gunfire.
Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin said there was a burglary in progress when deputies arrived. She said deputies and civilians in the area were “pinned down by gunfire.”
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While Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said the 17-year-old suspect told law enforcement that he’d surrender at the front door, he instead ran out through the back of the house, causing a chase. He said one deputy was shot.
Hobbs was eventually arrested after being shot by a Mississippi state trooper and was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
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He was charged with two counts of capital murder, one count of burglary, four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and two counts of aggravated assault over 65 years old.
In a statement on Facebook, the couple’s family said, “We are crushed in spirit, bruised, and brokenhearted, but we are not alone.”
Jason Busby, who was friends with the couple, remembered them as being extremely selfless when speaking with WLBT.
“The man would’ve given you the shirt off his back, his wife is the same, and they’re just great people. It’s just a tragedy,” Busby said. “Everybody around here is still in shock. They were just good people.”
