A search for a Mississippi homicide suspect ended in a shootout with Florida deputies Friday afternoon after authorities tracked him to a motel in Pensacola. Richard Timothy Ward was shot and wounded after allegedly pulling a firearm and firing at officers who had ordered him to put the weapon away. The confrontation happened just hours after two members of his family were found dead inside their Long Beach home.
The investigation began Friday morning, November 13, when Long Beach police received a report of a shooting at a home on Lantana Boulevard. Officers arrived around 10:15 a.m. and discovered two women dead inside. They were later identified as 84-year-old Doris Crimmins and her 63-year-old daughter, Kimberly Hernandez.
Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer confirmed that Crimmins owned the home and had been receiving hospice care for cardiac issues. Her death appeared to be from natural causes, although officials planned an autopsy to confirm the finding. Hernandez also lived at the property with her mother, but her death is being investigated as a homicide.
Authorities identified Richard Timothy Ward as a suspect in the case. Switzer confirmed that Ward was Crimmins’ son and Hernandez’s brother. Long Beach Police Chief Billy Seal said investigators located a vehicle believed to be connected to the incident and later found both Ward and the vehicle in Pensacola, Florida.
The information was passed to authorities in Escambia County, where deputies and Florida Highway Patrol officers began looking for the suspect. At approximately 2:15 p.m., officers went to a motel after receiving information that a homicide suspect was staying nearby.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said deputies approached Ward and made contact with him. During the encounter, Ward pulled out a firearm. Deputies ordered him several times to put the weapon away, but he allegedly refused and fired at them.
Three deputies responded by opening fire, striking Ward. He was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment. The sheriff confirmed that no deputies were injured in the confrontation.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting involving the deputies. Such an investigation is separate from the Mississippi case, where Long Beach police are still working to establish what happened to Crimmins and Hernandez.
Police Chief Billy Seal said investigators believe the deaths in Long Beach were domestic-related. Hernandez’s death remains under homicide investigation, while the coroner is awaiting autopsy results to confirm the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death.
The case now involves investigators in both Mississippi and Florida. Authorities are working to establish the full circumstances surrounding the two deaths and the armed confrontation that followed Ward’s location in Pensacola.