Gulfport gunshot victim from Vicksburg, two arrested in Louisiana in connection

Published 10:25 pm Thursday, January 26, 2023

Late Thursday night, WLOX released further information about two arrests made in Gonzales, La., in connection with a case The Vicksburg Police Department is investigating in Gulfport, Miss.

The case involves a Vicksburg man who was found Thursday with a gunshot wound near a church in Gulfport, Miss. The man has been identified as retired Warren County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Ouzts.

According to reports, multiple suspects were taken into custody at a Jack in the Box restaurant in Gonzales during a manhunt operation after fleeing from a house. Two of those suspects were wanted on warrants in Mississippi.

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A spokeswoman for the Gonzales Police Department said a total of eight people were detained. She said officers were contacted around 5 p.m. by detectives with the Gulfport Police Department about a manhunt related to a home invasion and the shooting of a current or former law enforcement officer in Vicksburg and other home burglaries in the Gulfport area. WAFB confirmed the victim is a retired law enforcement officer and is hospitalized.

Officials said Gulfport police investigators are headed to Gonzales to assist in further investigation.