Two women were found dead inside a home in Long Beach, Mississippi, on Friday morning, November 13, and a man police named as a suspect — the older woman's son and the younger woman's brother — was shot by sheriff's deputies hours later in Pensacola, Florida, according to WLOX reporting carried by Gray News.
Source: WLOX via WVLT / Gray News
Long Beach police responded to the home on Lantana Boulevard at about 10:15 a.m. on Friday after a reported shooting, and found both women dead inside, WLOX reported. Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer identified them as Doris Crimmins, 84, and her daughter, Kimberly Hernandez, 63, both of Long Beach.
Switzer said Crimmins owned the home and had been receiving hospice care for cardiac issues. Hernandez lived in the home with her mother, he said.
One death investigated as a homicide, one appeared natural
The coroner drew a clear distinction between the two deaths. Crimmins' death appeared to be natural, Switzer said, while Hernandez's death is being investigated as a homicide. That distinction matters: some early reports from Florida described the case as a double homicide, but the coroner's assessment reported by WLOX treats only Hernandez's death as a homicide investigation at this stage.
Investigators named Richard Timothy Ward as a suspect, according to Long Beach Police Chief Billy Seale. Ward is Crimmins' son and Hernandez's brother, police said. The reports reviewed did not state a motive, and police have not publicly described, in those reports, exactly what evidence led them to name Ward.
Police say the suspect, Richard Timothy Ward, is the son of Doris Crimmins, 84, and the brother of Kimberly Hernandez, 63. The coroner says Crimmins' death appeared natural; Hernandez's death is the one being investigated as a homicide.
Vehicle traced across the state line to Pensacola
Police identified a vehicle involved in the incident and later found Ward and the vehicle in Pensacola, in Florida's Panhandle, Seale said. Pensacola is in Escambia County, Florida, across the state line from coastal Mississippi, and the search for Ward became a Florida law-enforcement operation that afternoon.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said in a video posted to Facebook that deputies and Florida highway patrol officers learned that afternoon that a homicide suspect was staying at a nearby motel, according to WLOX. Deputies made contact with Ward, who pulled out a gun, Simmons said. After deputies gave him several commands to put the weapon away, Ward allegedly fired at them, the sheriff said. Three deputies returned fire and struck Ward, Simmons said, and Ward was taken to a hospital for treatment. Seale said Ward was arrested after the officer-involved shooting. Ward's alleged actions at the motel are the sheriff's account and have not been tested in court.
An independent report by BuzzReport, published on Friday, placed the deputy-involved shooting at about 1:45 p.m. at the Sweet Dream Inn, in the 7300 block of Plantation Road in Escambia County, and reported that three deputies returned fire, striking the suspect approximately two to three times. That report, written before Ward was publicly identified, said his condition and the extent of his injuries were unknown at the time. WEAR, the ABC affiliate in Pensacola, and WALA Fox 10 also reported a Mississippi homicide suspect being injured in a deputy-involved shooting at a Pensacola-area hotel.
Source: BuzzReport
What officials have not said yet
In the reports reviewed, authorities had not announced the formal charges Ward will face, had not released an updated medical condition for him beyond saying he was taken to a hospital, and had not released an official cause of death for either woman. No court date had been announced in those reports. Readers should treat the early 'double homicide' label with caution until the coroner and investigators publish their findings.
What is solid
- Two women, Doris Crimmins, 84, and Kimberly Hernandez, 63, were found dead in a Lantana Boulevard home in Long Beach, Mississippi, on Friday morning
- Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer said Crimmins' death appeared natural and Hernandez's death is being investigated as a homicide
- Police named Richard Timothy Ward, Crimmins' son and Hernandez's brother, as a suspect, and he was shot by Escambia County deputies in Pensacola and taken to a hospital
What is only claimed
- Some early Florida reports described the Mississippi case as a double homicide; the coroner's assessment reported by WLOX treats only Hernandez's death as a homicide investigation
- Sheriff Chip Simmons' account that Ward pulled a gun and fired at deputies is an official allegation that has not been tested in court
What happens next
Two investigations now run in parallel. In Mississippi, Long Beach police and the Harrison County coroner continue the inquiry into the deaths on Lantana Boulevard, including the official cause-of-death findings for both women. In Florida, the deputy-involved shooting in Escambia County remains under investigation, as BuzzReport and the sheriff's office both noted. Ward's hospital treatment, any formal charges, and his first court appearance are the next developments to watch, and Awaaz Punjab will update this story when officials release them.