Escaped murder suspect killed after holding family hostage
Vicksburg police carry out the body of escaped murder suspect Rafael McCloud into a coroner’s vehicle today, after he was shot by a homeowner during a hostage situation in Vicksburg, Miss. (Justin Sellers/The Clarion-Ledger via AP)
Vicksburg police load the body of escaped murder suspect Rafael McCloud into a coroner’s vehicle today, after he was shot by a homeowner during a hostage situation in Vicksburg, Miss. (Justin Sellers/The Clarion-Ledger via AP)
VICKSBURG, Miss. » An escaped murder suspect with little to lose made a desperate move before dawn today, breaking into a house at knifepoint and holding a husband, wife and son hostage for hours in a bathroom.
But this family wasn’t going down without a fight. After Rafael McCloud tied up the 30-year-old husband, he broke loose and fought with McCloud, who stabbed him in the back of his shoulder, Vicksburg Police Capt. Sandra Williams said. McCloud tied the man up again, but his 24-year-old wife persuaded McCloud to let her leave the bathroom. She returned with a family handgun and shot the intruder, Williams said. Then she cut loose her husband and he shot McCloud multiple times with the same gun.
The man was released from a local hospital after treatment. His wife and their 5-year-old son weren’t seriously injured.
It was the end to a manhunt that began March 2 when McCloud — who could have faced the death penalty if convicted in the 2015 killing — used a homemade shank to get the jump on an officer and escaped the county jail.
“This is absolutely not the outcome we had all hoped for,” Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said. “We had wanted to capture him and have him stand before the judge. But he chose this, and I am so personally relieved that this family was not injured more than they were and they were able to protect themselves.”
The man told police that McCloud confronted him about 4 a.m. as he and his son entered their attached garage, which Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong said McCloud entered through a side door. The family finally ran outside and flagged down a passing driver who called 911 about 7 a.m.
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Warren County Deputy Coroner Kelda Bailess said authorities found McCloud dead, slumped over the bathtub. His body was sent to the state crime lab for autopsy.
Authorities didn’t name the family members.
Police knew of no connection between McCloud and the family, who live on a street atop a steep ridge north of downtown Vicksburg. One side of the ridge looks out toward the Mississippi River, while the other looks onto part of the Vicksburg National Military Park, marking the site of a key Civil War battle.
McCloud escaped the Warren County Jail on March 2 when he overcame an officer and forced the officer to give up keys, radio, pants and jacket, authorities said. Once McCloud went out a door, he was free because the century-old red brick jail in downtown Vicksburg has no perimeter fence.
Officials combed the historic town for days, interviewing family members and friends of McCloud and poking through abandoned buildings. The found the pants McCloud took on the site of an abandoned hospital — the same place where authorities found Sharen Wilson — the woman McCloud was accused of killing in January 2015. McCloud was indicted on murder and rape charges in her death and had been jailed since June 29. Prosecutors could have sought the death penalty in the case.
The jail, the former hospital and the single-story home are all within a roughly 1 mile radius.
“I was kind of surprised he was still in the area,” neighbor Mike Keck said. “I thought he would’ve tried to get as far away as possible. I’m glad to see it’s finally over. We can be at ease now.”
Armstrong said McCloud was found wearing blue jeans and tennis shoes and said police are investigating whether someone aided him while he was on the lam.
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Associated Press writer Nassim Benchaabane in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.
19 responses to “Escaped murder suspect killed after holding family hostage”
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Another young scholar’s life cut short by those evil homeowners who dared to protect themselves and their property – he’ll be sorely missed at sunday school where no doubt he was a shining example to the younger generation of BLM Thugs.
Surely you jest?………I’am waiting for the thug’s mom to said “he was a good boy, why did they have to kill him?”
I’m truly and slightly surprised that four of the regular lurkers here haven’t posted rationalizations why the family that was victimized should not have been armed, that they would’ve been ultimately better off being defenseless.
Maybe for the same reason you didn’t post anything here:
http://www.staradvertiser.com/breaking-news/ohio-district-closed-for-school-shooting-investigation/
or here:
http://www.staradvertiser.com/breaking-news/suspect-in-fatal-michigan-shootings-expected-in-court/
Strange advertiser1, you think I should post approval for random murder and mayhem? I think it’s telling you haven’t written a word voicing approval that this incident concluded as it did. Perhaps you feel it shouldn’t have? Is this the truth of what’s apparently bugging you?
Messed with the wrong family. BACHI…
Now I know why Trump wants us to arm ourselves, good idea. I would’ve unloaded my gun too into that low life, good job.
““This is absolutely not the outcome we had all hoped for,” Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said.”
I understand why he lied, but he lied never the less. It would have been unsightly to truthfully say “Other than the family being held against their will and the husband getting stabbed, this is exactly how we wanted it to go. Innocents are safe, the culprit is dead, no additional taxpayer funds will be needed to house the criminal and we won’t be going in an endless circle in the courtroom.”
you are responsible for providing safety for yourself and your family. how you provide for that safety is up to you. this family was prepared and ready to protect themselves.
the police have no duty to protect any citizen from harm from another citizen. in too many cases the police arrive in the nick of time to record what happened minutes if not hours before.
the police have no duty to protect any citizen from harm from another citizen? What?
advertiser1, it’s common knowledge by pro-gun people. Please take the effort to look up Warren v. District of Columbia. It’s a decision fundamentally anti-gun zealots would rather forget.
Thanks for the case citation. I’m no lawyer, so please correct me if I’m wrong, but the decision was stated as such so that people couldn’t sue, or rather be successful in a suit, if police failed to stop victims from being harmed. In other words, if police owed everyone, every single individual a duty to protect, then any individual who fell victim to a crime could sue, and be successful against all police departments. Or put another way, if not for this decision, then, if I got robbed, then logically the police failed to protect me, and therefore, I should be compensated for that failure.
Sorry, I read the Court of Appeals decision, and it was that the police owe a duty to protect the public at large, but not an individual.
Here’s another question for you, why are they “pro-gun people” and “anti-gun zealots”?
advertiser1, I’ll ask you a more important question: do you approve of the way this family ended their victimization? What say you?
Glad this family is safe. Kudos to them for their ability to think and act under pressure. This shooting saved the people of Mississippi thousands of dollars worth of room, board and appeals.
Kudos for them too for having a gun to use as needed.
My I original impression was right, just by reading the headline, before having a glance at the story: this kind of an event would not take place in Hawaii. At most we would see something like the Bryan Uyesugi Xerox mass shooting, at the turn of the century. Similarly, it’s why Chief Kealoha getting a “good” B grade review seems justified. No one gets an A unless they completely aced exams, like, ahem, I did, in my Junior year at UH.
Had an incident similar to this occurred in Hawaii, the husband would likely face close judicial scrutiny for shooting his kidnapper and assailant after his wife had already shot him. It all depends on whether the man was incapacitated by the wife shooting him first. If he wasn’t fully incapacitated and still posed an immediate threat, then all’s well. If not, then in this state, I’d expect the husband to be charged with assault with a deadly weapon at the very least.