UPDATE: Mississippi man linked to third shooting

UPDATE: 02/26/16 11:28am: Neshoba County Sheriff Tommy Waddell has named Alex Deaton as a person of interest in the death of Brenda Strickland Pinter, 69.

On Thursday, Pinter was found dead inside Dixon Baptist Church by her husband. She had suffered from a gunshot wound.

Sheriff Waddell says shortly after Pinter arrived at the church, a white SUV was spotted traveling on Highway 21 South in Dixon, and coming from the direction of Philadelphia.

Investigators know the SUV entered into the church parking lot and remained there for several minutes. When it left Dixon Baptist Church, it traveled back south on Highway 21 going towards Forest.

The sheriff knows without a doubt that after the white SUV left the church, there were no other vehicles that entered the parking lot until shortly before 6 p.m. when Pinter’s husband discovered her.

Sheriff Waddell adds Deaton has previous lived in Neshoba County.

The Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office since Friday morning.

UPDATE: The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation confirms that a nationwide manhunt is underway in the search for suspect Alex Bridges Deaton. Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commuications Director Warren Strain says Deaton is wanted for murder and aggravated assault.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Rankin County Sheriff’s Office is looking for 28-year-old Alex Bridges Deaton in connection to Friday’s suspicious death at Vineyards Apartments, and drive by shooting on Castlewoods Boulevard in Brandon.

According to a written release from Sheriff Bryan Bailey the Sheriff’s Office received a request to do a welfare check on a resident at Vineyard Apartments off of Vine Drive near Castlewoods Boulevard. During the welfare check a deputy and a family member found a 30-year-old woman dead inside the apartment.

The woman’s vehicle, a white 2012 GMC Acadia, was missing.

Rankin County deputies also responded to a shooting on Castlewood’s Blvd around 5 AM, Friday morning.

A woman told deputies she had been shot while jogging. During the investigation the victim stated that a white male with facial hair, driving a small white SUV, shot her from his driver’s window striking her in the thigh.

Because of “Deaton’s physical description, the description of the white SUV missing from the deceased victim, the proximity of the two incidents, and physical evidence collected at the Castlewoods Boulevard shooting, Deaton,” Sheriff Bailey says, “is a suspect in both cases.”

Warrants are being issued for Deaton. Deputies and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force are actively searching for him.

Courtesy: WJTV