Police: Man charged with first-degree murder after deadly exchange of gunfire in Columbia

COLUMBIA, Miss. (WDAM) - Officials with the Columbia Police Department have released more details on the early-morning shooting incident that ended with one man dead and another behind bars Tuesday.

CPD officials said 30-year-old Jarron Burton, of Columbia, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with Gerrod Ball, also of Columbia, around 12:30 a.m. Ball, 39, was also injured in the shootout.

A news release from the police department says the shooting was reported to dispatch at 12:31 a.m., and officers responded to the scene on Barbara Drive within minutes. That’s where officers found Burton lying in the roadway suffering from a gunshot wound.

Police and medical first responders tried to save Burton’s life, but he did not survive.

Lt. Davy Bass said several people witnessed the exchange of gunfire, and that allowed police to quickly identity Ball as a person of interest in the investigation.

Police said Ball was found and taken into custody within 20 minutes of the shooting. Bass said Ball asked to be taken to Marion General Hospital, where he was treated and released into the custody of authorities.

Ball was booked into the Marion County Regional Jail on a charge of first-degree murder. Justice Court Judge Gwen Broome set Ball’s bond at $1 million.

Investigators could not say what might have led to the shootout but said the investigation is ongoing. If you have any details that could help detectives, you’re asked to call the Columbia Police Department at 601-736-8052 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 601-582-7867.

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