Murder suspect dead after I-10 chase across Coast, police say. A baby was in his car.
A double-homicide suspect from Louisiana is dead following a multi-agency vehicle pursuit that began in Louisiana and ended in Harrison County, officials confirmed Monday.
Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer said the suspect, identified as Eric Derell Smith, died of multiple gunshot wounds.
A 4-month-old child in the car with Smith at the time sustained injuries.
Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said the boy was at Merit Health in Biloxi in stable condition, then transferred to USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Mobile, Alabama.
Smith is a suspect in double homicide that happened early Monday morning near Baker in rural East Baton Rouge Parish.
East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputies responded around 11:30 a.m. to 911 hang-up call from the 2000 block of Richmond Street in Baker. Smith’s ex-girlfriend lives at the address.
When deputies got to the home, they found the shooting victims, identified by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office as Christin Parker, 32, and her nephew, Brandon Parker, 26.
Smith left the home in a blue Nissan Altima and had the 4-month-old baby with him.
The top priority for Louisiana authorities was to locate the child unharmed, so they immediately released details of the incident to the public.
Biloxi police are handling the investigation into Smith’s death because the Mississippi Highway Patrol, Gulfport Police Department and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office took part in the chase.
The pursuit began in Louisiana and ended on Interstate 10 just west of the Woolmarket exit in Harrison County. Both lanes of I-10 eastbound were shut down from the Cowan-Lorraine exit for several hours as a result.
Biloxi police said in a press release Monday night that they were notified at approximately 2:52 p.m. that Smith had been found on I-10 near Gulfport, heading east. At that point, multiple law enforcement agencies were attempting to stop Smith, who had two flat tires.
As the chase entered Biloxi, Smith drove into the median in an attempt to cross it to get onto I-10 westbound. But the car got stuck in the grass near mile marker 40.
As he exited the vehicle, police said, “shots were fired” and Smith was hit.
Medical attention was given to Smith, but he died at the scene. Switzer got to the scene around 4:30 p.m.
Miller said the investigation is continuing.
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 5:18 PM.
