A candidate for a seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives shot his wife dead before killing himself, police said.
Carl Robinson, 43, entered a medical clinic in Potts Camp on Wednesday, July 16 and shot his wife LaToya Thompson, 34, before turning the gun on himself, Marshall County Sheriff Kenny Dickerson told the Daily Journal.
Thompson was a receptionist at the Williams Medical Clinic.
Officers rushed to the scene after receiving a call from someone there.
“We found the shooter dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head,” Dickerson said. “He and his wife were in the process of a divorce. His wife was lying on the floor near his body.”
“A lot of folks were shook up, but no one else was injured,” Dickerson added.
Three staff members at the clinic tried helping Thompson after she was shot but she succumbed to her wounds, officials said.
“I dialed 911 and told them we needed an ambulance and the police. Then my coworker came out and we both ran in and saw there was two bodies on the ground. The sheriff had got there, and we right away started to do CPR to save our coworker,” Tammy Wiseman, a nurse, told WREG.
BREAKING: Sources confirm to @TomDeesFOX13 and I that Carl Robinson, a candidate for MS House, was the gunman in this morning’s murder-suicide at a Potts Camp, MS clinic.
MORE: https://t.co/7SMzsEC5XB pic.twitter.com/9QtMSeNudC
— Tony Atkins (@TonyAtkinsFOX13) July 16, 2019
Here is material from Robinson’s campaign here in Marshall County. pic.twitter.com/90WtJAVDwY
— Tony Atkins (@TonyAtkinsFOX13) July 16, 2019
“When we got to her she never did respond to us. We were doing what we could do, CPR, and when the ambulance got here she did leave with rhythm and hope,” Wiseman told Fox 13.
Dr. Kenneth Williams, who owns the clinic, said he arrived shortly after the receptionist was shot and also tried performing CPR.
“We did try to resuscitate her, and she was gone, but she did get her rhythm back,” Williams said. “We got her rhythm back and got her loaded up and taken to the field for the helicopter. While she was over there, her rhythm went out twice and she didn’t make it.”
The shooting left the community stunned.
Marshall County Sheriff Kenny Dickerson talking about a murder-suicide at a local medical clinic this morning.
Tune into @wtva9news at 4 and 5 for the latest. pic.twitter.com/yY2wscSlsw
— Evan Hensley (@EvanWTVA) July 16, 2019
“I tell people this is the closest thing to Mayberry that I have ever seen,” he said. “I never expected anything like it, and we have a lot of hurt people. We have lost someone who is part of our family, and we will take it day to day.”
A campaign page for Robinson said he was running for the District 5 seat. The page was later removed. He was going to be on the ballot for the Democratic primary, WREG reported.
Sheriff Dickerson told the broadcaster that divorce papers were served on Tuesday. He told WMC that the couple had been arguing over who would have custody of the couple’s child.
“Yes she has a son and he’s just a happy little boy and she was a wonderful, dedicated mother to him,” said Thompson’s cousin Sarita Thompson.
“This is a very small community. Such a tragedy. You know, it’s hard to believe an event of this nature could occur here. But as we know, they happen every place in cities large and small,” Dickerson told WREG.
