A Covington County Sheriff’s Deputy is fighting for his life at Forrest General Hospital after being shot one time during a traffic stop in Mount Olive, Mississippi, Monday afternoon — a life-threatening wound that struck above his protective vest under his arm — as authorities confirm that two brothers, 19-year-old Cortavion Dewayne Hobbs and 18-year-old Cortavious Hobbs, remain armed, dangerous, and at large following a dramatic multi-agency manhunt that has deployed drones, K-9 units, and law enforcement teams from across Mississippi into the wooded areas surrounding Mount Olive. In a significant development, initial Blue Alert suspect Zykerian Quentavius Magee, 19, turned himself in to authorities following the issuance of the alert and has since been cleared as a suspect after an interview with law enforcement.
According to Covington County Sheriff Darrell Perkins, a Covington County deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop at approximately 2:45 p.m. on Monday, June 8, 2026. The driver failed to stop and fled south on Highway 49 before ending up on a gravel road near Greer’s CashSaver store, located at 406 Main Street in Mount Olive, near the Smith and Simpson County lines. The deputy exited his vehicle and was then shot one time. The injury was life-threatening, striking above his vest under his arm — an area not protected by the deputy’s body armor. Sheriff Perkins confirmed that the officer is currently in stable condition at Forrest General Hospital. A second officer who was present at the scene providing backup returned fire on the suspects and was not injured.
What Authorities Have Confirmed — Full Updated Details
Covington County Sheriff Darrell Perkins has provided the following confirmed information about Monday’s deputy shooting and the subsequent manhunt:
The deputy initiated a traffic stop at approximately 2:45 p.m. on Monday. The driver refused to stop and fled south on Highway 49, eventually turning onto a gravel road near Greer’s CashSaver at 406 Main Street in Mount Olive — a location near the Smith and Simpson County lines. When the deputy exited his vehicle, he was shot one time above his protective vest, under his arm — a wound that Sheriff Perkins described as life-threatening. The deputy is currently in stable condition at Forrest General Hospital.
A second officer at the scene returned fire on the suspects following the shooting of his colleague. That officer was not injured.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation issued Blue Alerts for three suspects following the shooting. However, in a significant development, Zykerian Quentavius Magee, 19, turned himself in to authorities after the Blue Alert was issued. Following an interview with law enforcement, Magee has been cleared as a suspect and is no longer being sought in connection with the deputy shooting.
The two brothers who remain wanted are:
Suspect 1 — Cortavion Dewayne Hobbs, 19:
- Height: 5 feet 6 inches
- Weight: 140 pounds
- Race: Black male
- Last seen wearing: Camouflage hoodie
- Last seen: On foot near 200 block of South Bluff Road just after 3:30 p.m.
- Considered: Armed and extremely dangerous
Suspect 2 — Cortavious Hobbs, 18:
- Height: 5 feet 6 inches
- Weight: 140 pounds
- Race: Black male
- Last seen wearing: Black hoodie and gray pants
- Last seen: On foot near 200 block of South Bluff Road just after 3:30 p.m.
- Considered: Armed and extremely dangerous
Sheriff Perkins confirmed that the suspects’ mother contacted a chief deputy and told him that Cortavion and Cortavious were her sons — a development that confirms the brothers’ identities and their connection to the shooting.
⚠️ URGENT PUBLIC SAFETY WARNING — DO NOT OPEN YOUR DOOR
Law enforcement officials in Covington County have issued the following direct instructions to Mount Olive area residents:
- Do NOT open your door for anyone you cannot verify is law enforcement or a person you personally know
- Lock your car doors immediately
- Stay inside your home
- Call 911 immediately if you see either suspect
Several roads and areas in and around Mount Olive are currently blocked off as the search continues. Drones are actively flying over the area and K-9 units are searching the wooded areas surrounding Mount Olive for both suspects.
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation tip line: (855) 642-5378 Emergency — If you see either suspect: Call 911 immediately
Critical Update: Magee Cleared — Two Brothers Now Primary Suspects
One of the most significant developments in the rapidly evolving Covington County deputy shooting investigation is the clearing of Zykerian Quentavius Magee as a suspect. After the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation issued a Blue Alert naming Magee as one of three suspects, the 19-year-old turned himself in to law enforcement. Following a formal interview with investigators, Magee was cleared of any involvement in the shooting and is no longer being sought in connection with the attack on the Covington County deputy.
This development narrows the manhunt to two specific individuals — the brothers Cortavion Dewayne Hobbs, 19, and Cortavious Hobbs, 18 — and confirms that the shooting was carried out by individuals who share a family connection that law enforcement is now using to build a comprehensive understanding of their background, their likely locations, and the network of people who might be sheltering or assisting them as the search continues.
The rapid self-surrender and clearing of Magee is a testament to the effectiveness of the Blue Alert system — and a reminder that the system works best when members of the public and individuals with information engage with law enforcement rather than attempting to avoid or evade the investigation.
The Hobbs Brothers and the Simpson County Connection
The reported family connection between Cortavion and Cortavious Hobbs and Cordarius Hobbs — the 17-year-old charged with capital murder in Simpson County last week — has given Monday’s shooting a dimension of disturbing context that law enforcement agencies across central Mississippi are taking extremely seriously.
Sheriff Perkins confirmed that the Simpson County Sheriff’s Office contacted him and informed him that Cortavion Hobbs is related to Cordarius Hobbs. Cordarius Hobbs appeared in Mendenhall court on Friday, June 5, 2026, where he was charged with an extraordinary 13 counts including:
- 2 counts of capital murder — for the deaths of Billy Blair, 74, and Virginia Carol Blair, 71
- 1 count of burglary
- 4 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
- 4 counts of aggravated assault of a law officer with a deadly weapon
- 2 counts of aggravated assault over 65 years old
The connection between Cortavion and Cortavious Hobbs — the brothers now wanted for the shooting of a Covington County deputy — and Cordarius Hobbs — the juvenile facing 13 felony counts including capital murder for a crime committed just days earlier — means that central Mississippi has witnessed violence connected to the same family network within a single week that has claimed the lives of two elderly civilians, seriously injured a sheriff’s deputy in Simpson County, and now left a Covington County deputy fighting for his life at Forrest General Hospital.
This pattern of connected violence is driving the urgency of the current manhunt and the extraordinary level of law enforcement resources that have been deployed in and around Mount Olive as authorities work to ensure that Cortavion and Cortavious Hobbs are taken into custody before any further violence occurs.
Governor Tate Reeves: Pray for This Deputy
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves took to Facebook and social media immediately following news of the Covington County deputy shooting, calling for prayers and making clear the state’s commitment to justice.
“A hero needs your prayers. Today, a Covington County Sheriff’s Deputy was shot and seriously injured during a traffic stop,” the Governor wrote. “Law enforcement is working to bring those responsible to justice. Make no mistake, they will be brought to justice. Please pray for this deputy and their family, Mississippi!”
The Governor’s statement — delivered with the directness and conviction that Mississippians expect from their leadership in moments of crisis — reflects both the human urgency of the situation and the political and institutional determination of Mississippi’s government to ensure that individuals who shoot law enforcement officers are held fully accountable under the law.
The Massive Law Enforcement Response
The manhunt for Cortavion and Cortavious Hobbs has triggered one of the most substantial law enforcement mobilizations in Covington County in recent memory. Multiple agencies at the local, state, and federal level are actively participating in the search.
Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel confirmed that deputies are on their way to the scene with the department’s SRT — Special Response Team — and K-9 units. The Jones County Sheriff’s Department has deployed deputies, investigators, and narcotics agents to assist in the manhunt. State and federal agencies are also providing support, according to officials on the scene.
Drones are actively flying over the wooded areas surrounding Mount Olive where the two suspects are believed to be hiding. K-9 units from multiple agencies are conducting ground-level searches through the same terrain. Several roads and locations in and around Mount Olive are currently blocked off, restricting movement in and out of the search area and making it increasingly difficult for the suspects to move without being detected.
The scale and intensity of the law enforcement response reflects the seriousness of the charges the Hobbs brothers face and the commitment of Mississippi’s law enforcement community to bringing Monday’s shooting to justice as quickly as possible.
Forrest General Hospital: Where the Deputy Fights for Recovery
The Covington County deputy who was shot on Monday afternoon — whose identity has not been publicly released by the sheriff’s office — was transported to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he is currently listed in stable condition. Forrest General Hospital is one of the premier medical facilities in southern Mississippi and serves as a regional trauma center for the Pine Belt region, making it the appropriate destination for a patient with a life-threatening gunshot wound sustained above protective body armor.
The fact that the deputy has been stabilized at Forrest General Hospital is the best news to emerge from an otherwise devastating day for the Covington County Sheriff’s Office and the broader Mississippi law enforcement community. Stable condition means that the medical team at Forrest General has been able to address the immediate life-threatening nature of the wound and that the deputy is receiving the care he needs to recover.
The Covington County Sheriff’s Office and the Mississippi law enforcement community are rallying around this deputy and his family with the kind of unwavering support that defines the bonds between officers who serve alongside each other in dangerous circumstances every single day.
A Community Under Lockdown: Residents Told to Stay Inside
The intensity of the search for Cortavion and Cortavious Hobbs has created a genuinely alarming public safety situation in Mount Olive and the surrounding areas of Covington County. Law enforcement officials have taken the extraordinary step of instructing residents to stay inside their homes, lock their car doors, and refuse to open their doors for anyone they cannot positively verify as law enforcement or a personally known individual.
This level of community lockdown instruction reflects law enforcement’s assessment that the two suspects are potentially hiding in the residential and wooded areas of the Mount Olive community and that their willingness to shoot a law enforcement officer makes them an active and serious threat to any civilians they might encounter while evading capture.
The residents of Mount Olive and Covington County are doing exactly what law enforcement has asked — staying inside, locking their doors, and calling 911 if they see anyone matching the description of either suspect. This community cooperation is an essential part of the law enforcement strategy for resolving the manhunt safely and without further injury to civilians or officers.
Greer’s CashSaver and the Shooting Location
The gravel road near Greer’s CashSaver store at 406 Main Street in Mount Olive — near the Smith and Simpson County lines — where the deputy was shot after exiting his vehicle is a location that has now become central to one of the most significant law enforcement investigations in Covington County history. The proximity of the shooting location to the Smith and Simpson County lines creates a jurisdictional complexity that the multi-agency response has been designed to address, with agencies from all three counties and beyond participating in a coordinated search that does not stop at county boundaries.
The fact that the driver fled south on Highway 49 before turning onto the gravel road near Greer’s CashSaver suggests a deliberate attempt to evade the traffic stop and reach a location where the occupants of the vehicle felt they had an advantage — a wooded, semi-rural area near county lines where a quick escape into the tree cover might be possible. That calculation may have been correct in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, but the scale and technology of the law enforcement response — including drones in the air and K-9 units on the ground — has significantly narrowed whatever head start the suspects may have had.
Mississippi’s Broader Crisis: A Week of Violence Against Law Enforcement
Monday’s shooting of the Covington County deputy is the second serious attack on a Mississippi law enforcement officer in the space of a single week — and the reported family connection between the Hobbs brothers and Cordarius Hobbs means that both incidents may be connected to the same family network, raising urgent questions about the broader context of violence that has struck central Mississippi with devastating speed and severity.
The Simpson County incident on June 3 — in which Cordarius Hobbs, 17, allegedly killed Billy Blair, 74, and Virginia Carol Blair, 71, and shot a sheriff’s deputy during what authorities described as a burglary in progress — was already one of the most shocking crimes in recent Mississippi history. The 13 charges subsequently filed against Cordarius Hobbs — including two counts of capital murder and four counts of aggravated assault of a law officer — reflect the severity and breadth of the alleged violence.
Monday’s shooting, allegedly carried out by Cordarius Hobbs’ relatives just five days later, suggests a pattern that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety will be examining with the urgency and thoroughness that the safety of Mississippi communities demands.
Grief Support and Law Enforcement Resources
For members of the Covington County community and Mississippi law enforcement families who need support, the following resources are available:
- Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) — 1-800-784-2677 — concernsofpolicesurvivors.org
- Mississippi Department of Public Safety — dps.ms.gov
- Officer Down Memorial Page — odmp.org
- National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund — nleomf.org
- Crisis Text Line — Text HOME to 741741, free and confidential, 24/7
- SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-4357, free and confidential
A Final Word
A Covington County Sheriff’s Deputy is at Forrest General Hospital tonight — alive, in stable condition, but carrying a bullet wound above his vest that came within a margin of taking his life on a gravel road in Mount Olive on a Monday afternoon. Two brothers — Cortavion Dewayne Hobbs, 19, and Cortavious Hobbs, 18 — are somewhere in the woods of Covington County with drones overhead and K-9 units closing in. Their mother has already told law enforcement who they are. Mississippi has already made clear what justice looks like.
Zykerian Magee had the courage to turn himself in and was cleared. The Hobbs brothers should follow that example before this manhunt ends in a way that leaves no room for any outcome other than the worst one.
To the residents of Mount Olive: stay inside, lock your doors, and trust the law enforcement officers who are out there right now — in the dark, in the woods, in the heat — doing everything they can to bring this manhunt to a safe and just conclusion.
Pray for this deputy. Pray for his family. Pray for the officers in those woods tonight. Mississippi, justice is coming. 🙏🇺🇸
LightHouz will continue to follow every development in this story and update this article as the Covington County Sheriff’s Office, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, and other official sources release verified information.
Sources
- WLBT — Lauren Harvey and Christopher Fields. “Two brothers are suspects on the loose after Covington County deputy shot.” June 8, 2026
- SuperTalk Mississippi — Caleb Salers. “Search underway for suspects after deputy shot in Covington County.” June 8, 2026
- WJTV 12 Jackson — “Deputy shot in Mount Olive, suspects at large.” June 8, 2026
- WLBT — “Bond denied for teen accused of deadly Simpson County shooting.” June 5, 2026
- Mississippi Department of Public Safety — Blue Alert
- Mississippi Bureau of Investigation
- Covington County Sheriff’s Office — Sheriff Darrell Perkins
- Governor Tate Reeves — Official Statement
- Forrest General Hospital
- Officer Down Memorial Page
- Concerns of Police Survivors
- Crisis Text Line
- SAMHSA National Helpline
Leave a Reply