Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement.
On Friday, May 8, 2026, just before 4:00 p.m., the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from the 1400 block of Monterey Road. The caller reported that two individuals had been shot and that the armed suspect had retreated
inside a residence on the property.
Numerous deputies responded to the scene along with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, negotiators, and technical response personnel.
Upon arrival, deputies learned that multiple family members living on the property had been involved in an ongoing dispute concerning family land. Investigators believe the dispute escalated Friday afternoon, resulting in one family
member fatally shooting two other family members.
Based on information obtained from family members and others at the scene, investigators also learned the family was involved in a firearms-related business. Due to the potential elevated threat to responding law enforcement personnel
and nearby residents, assistance was requested from the FBI Jackson Field Office, the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Clinton Bomb Squad.
Once sufficient personnel arrived, deputies established a perimeter around the property and evacuated nearby residents as a precaution.
After armored vehicles arrived on scene, members of the SWAT Team and negotiators approached the residence and made numerous attempts to contact the suspect. Those attempts were unsuccessful.
Sheriff’s deputies later used armored and technical equipment to breach and enter the residence. During a search of the home, deputies located the suspect deceased inside a bathroom from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The scene was secured, and Rankin County Sheriff’s Office investigators began processing the crime scene.
Rankin County Deputy Coroner Cliff Dunlap responded to the scene and transported the deceased individuals. The Rankin County Coroner’s Office identified them as:
Victim 1 – Walter E. Birdsong Jr., 62-year-old male
Victim 2 – Amanda L. Birdsong, 43-year-old female
Suspect – Kurt Tyler Birdsong, 56-year-old male
This investigation remains ongoing. The Rankin County Sheriff’s Office continues to receive assistance from the FBI and ATF Jackson offices.
Sheriff Bryan Bailey extends his appreciation to the FBI, ATF, Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, Clinton Bomb Squad, Rankin County Emergency Operations Center, and especially the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office deputies and dispatcherswho responded to this tragic incident.
The Rankin County Sheriff’s Office asks the community to pray for comfort and peace for the family and friends affected by this tragedy.
9 comments:
Rather than knock a wall down, use a robot!!!
Why does Cliinton PD have a bomb squad? How many bombs are going off in Clinton?
@1:20 PM
Same reason Hattiesburg PD has one. Federal funding to combat Terrorism on the American University Campus
Related to Colonel Thomas Butler Birdsong Jr., first commissioner of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol in 1938?
@1:20PM Clinton PD has had a bomb squad for decades. They have it because the city, the department and the officers are willing to invest the time, effort and money that it requires. (They also get grants, but even that requires time, effort and money.) It's true that you never hear about bombs going off in Clinton, but that's because they have a bomb squad. No one else has a bomb squad because they dont need to. Clinton has one.
Um, because they worked their ass off securing the funding and doing the training. Better to have it and not need it…..
Because Clinton has a college with 5,000 students and a public school system ranked in the top five of the state, neither of which Rankin has. City leaders 20 years ago secured the funding and did the work. Such funds were a thing post 9-11.
This arose from a family dispute over family land? Write a will, folks, and don't tell anyone what's in it, just announce that you've written or changed your will.
Mr. Birdsong made an incredible product that was used extensively in military and civilian applications. It’s really amazing what all came through the doors of his little shop.
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