Suspect, fired Thursday, arrested two hours after Friday shooting
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A Friday morning shooting at Howard Industries sent one man to surgery and put another man in handcuffs after a massive response by multiple law enforcement agencies.
Keith Hinton
Keith E. Hinton, 21, of Purvis was captured in Stone County approximately two hours after the shooting outside the company’s main transformer plant in the Industrial Park in Laurel.
Dale Thornton, 57, of Laurel was reportedly 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 then airlifted to Forrest General Hospital.
All employees were evacuated and Hinton evaded police by exiting 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 Friday and shot him in retaliation.
“It was pretty scary when it all happened,” an employee said on the condition of anonymity. “I’ve never been in an active-shooting situation, so to hear the gunshots then everyone rushing to get out was nothing like I’ve ever experienced.
“I feel bad for the man that got shot, but I’m glad we all got out of there safely. It was a madhouse.”
People were leaving as fast as they could because, at the time, it was not known that the shooter had left the building. Laurel police officers helped HI security clear the plant.
Video surveillance showed the suspect leaving the plant “during the chaos,” Chief Tommy Cox of the Laurel Police Department said. Images of the white pickup the suspect left in were immediately provided to area law enforcement and the suspect was captured near Perkinston by Stone County Sheriff’s Department deputies and the Mississippi Highway Patrol. LPD investigators were en route 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 is still being investigated 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 community are 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, Jones County Sheriff’s Department, Jones County Emergency Operations Center (especially the dispatchers), Laurel High School Resource Officers, Forrest County Sheriff’s Department, FBI, Mississippi Highway Patrol, the Stone County Sheriff’s Department and the 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.
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