Authorities searched for two suspects after a Covington County sheriff’s deputy was shot Monday afternoon during a traffic stop in Mount Olive, Mississippi, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety said. The shooting occurred at approximately 3:38 p.m., and multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the scene, DPS said.
The deputy was taken to a hospital and was reportedly in stable condition, DPS said. The department issued a Blue Alert shortly after 5 p.m., identifying one suspect as 18-year-old Cortavious Lawayne Hobbs and asking the public to be on the lookout for 19-year-old Zykerian Quentavius Magee, who later turned himself in and was cleared as a suspect, DPS said.
Around 9:20 p.m., DPS issued a second Blue Alert for 19-year-old Cortavion Dewayne Hobbs, the brother of Cortavious Lawayne Hobbs, the department said. DPS Commissioner Sean Tindell wrote on social media that “Both Hobbs are believed to be armed and dangerous and could be in the area of the 200 block of South Bluff Street, Mount Olive,” and urged anyone with information to contact authorities.
DPS described Cortavious Lawayne Hobbs as a Black male, 5-foot-6 and 140 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair, last seen wearing a black hoodie. Cortavion Dewayne Hobbs was described as a Black male, 5-foot-6 and 140 pounds, last seen wearing a camouflage hoodie, DPS said.
A source told SuperTalk Mississippi News that the Hobbs brothers are related to Cordarius Hobbs, a 17-year-old who was arrested and charged in connection with the June 3 slayings of an elderly couple and the shooting of a Simpson County sheriff’s deputy, the outlet reported. Anyone with information about the Mount Olive shooting was asked to contact the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation at (855) 642-5378 or call 911, authorities said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
