The suspect, fired Thursday, was arrested two hours after Friday’s shooting
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A Friday morning shooting at Howard Industries sent one man into surgery and another in handcuffs after a massive response from multiple law enforcement agencies.
Keith Hinton
Keith E. Hinton, 21, of Purvis was captured in Stone County about two hours after the shooting outside the company’s main processing plant in the Laurel Industrial Park.
Dale Thornton, 57, of Laurel, was shot multiple times around 8:30 a.m. Friday. He was found by law enforcement and transported to South Central Regional Medical Center by EMServ Ambulance Service and then airlifted to Forrest General Hospital.
All employees were evacuated and Hinton evaded the police by leaving the premises with everyone else. The shooting took place in the parking lot, then Hinton ran into the building, police officials said.
Thornton fired Hinton on Thursday, sources with knowledge of the case said, then Hinton showed up on Friday and shot him in retaliation.
“It was pretty scary when it all happened,” said one employee on condition of anonymity. “I’ve never been in an active shooter situation, so hearing the gunshots then everyone rushing to get out was nothing like I’d ever experienced.
“I feel bad for the guy who got shot, but I’m glad we all got out of there safely. It was an insane asylum.”
People were leaving as fast as they could because, at the time, the shooter was not known to have left the building. Laurel police officers assisted HI security in clearing the plant.
Video surveillance showed the suspect leaving the plant “during the chaos,” said Chief Tommy Cox of the Laurel Police Department. Footage of the white pickup truck left by the suspect was immediately provided to area law enforcement and the suspect was apprehended near Perkinston by Stone County Sheriff’s Department deputies and the State Highway Patrol. mississippi LPD investigators were on their way to pick him up before noon.
Hinton is being charged with aggravated assault and will likely make his initial court appearance this weekend.
The shooting remains under investigation, and Howard Industries officials “are fully cooperating and working closely with local law enforcement,” company spokeswoman Karly McCoy said. “The safety and well-being of our employees and the community is our first priority. Our thoughts and prayers are with our injured employee and his family.”
Cox and LPD Deputy Chief Earl Reed thanked EMServ Ambulance Service, the Jones County Sheriff’s Department, the Jones County Emergency Operations Center (especially dispatchers), officers Laurel High School Resource Center, Forrest County Sheriff’s Department, FBI, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Stone County Sheriff’s Department. and Howard’s security team for their assistance in the case.
“This is another great example of how law enforcement comes together in these situations to help keep our citizens safe,” Cox said.
