BRANDON — One police officer was killed and another wounded during a standoff Thursday morning in Brandon.

Randy Tyler, a seven-year veteran of the Madison Police Department and member of the department’s Special Response Team, was shot and killed by the suspect.

A Brandon Police Department officer was also shot, and the suspect was killed at the end of the standoff.
The Brandon officer has not been identified, but late Thursday afternoon the Brandon Police Department said in a statement that he is in stable condition at a hospital.

The Brandon PD identified the suspect as 22-year-old Gabriel Matthew Wilson.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident because it was an officer-involved shooting.
Brandon police said they received at call at approximately 1:20 a.m. that a male subject, armed with a rifle and a pistol, was attempting to break into his ex-girlfriend’s home on Terrapin Hill North in the Crossgates subdivision.

The subject, identified as Wilson, took the ex-girlfriend and another woman hostage. One of the women was able to escape soon after police arrived, but Wilson barricaded himself in the home and took the other hostage.

After several hours of negotiations, the second woman was released but Wilson did not surrender. At 5:43 a.m. he opened fire on the police officers on the scene. The Brandon officer was wounded about 20 minutes later.

Negotiations resumed as units from around the Jackson Metro arrived as back-up. Officers from Madison, Pearl, Richland, the Capitol Police and Rankin County Sheriff’s Office were all on scene.

At approximately 9:50 a.m., Wilson opened fire on officers again and Tyler was fatally wounded. Officers returned fire and struck Wilson, killing him. Wilson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tyler was part of Madison’s Special Response Team that arrived around 7 a.m. as reinforcements, the Madison Police Department said in a statement.

Tyler was the Madison Police Department’s Field Training Coordinator, responsible for overseeing the training and career development of newly hired police officers. He was also a supervisor in the Department’s Narcotics Division.
Prior to working in Madison, Tyler retired as the Chief of Police for the Ridgeland Police Department.

“Chief (Wayne) Dearman and the Brandon Police Department would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of this fallen hero and ask that you join in praying for them in the coming days,” the Brandon Police Department said in a statement.