Suspects arrested and charged after shooting during custody exchange outside Ocean Springs police

OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi (WLOX) – Three suspects have been arrested in a custody exchange-related shooting outside the Ocean Springs Police Department.

According to Deputy Chief Steven Dye, a custody change went wrong at the police station and municipal court on Bienville Boulevard.

“During the custody exchange, an argument broke out,” Dye said. “Shots were fired. Two people were shot and taken to Ocean Springs Hospital. The child is fine.”

The following suspects were arrested:

• Anthony Hall, 27, of Biloxi was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. Additional charges are pending. Hall is the biological father of the 2-year-old.

Anthony Hall, 27, of Biloxi, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. Additional charges are pending.(Jackson County Sheriff's Office)

• Devon Gray, 27, of Ocean Springs, faces two counts of aggravated assault with additional charges pending. Gray is the 2-year-old's stepfather. He was also hospitalized after suffering a gunshot wound.
• Corey Taylor, 23, is facing one count of aggravated assault, with additional charges pending. Taylor was a friend of Hall's who drove him to the custody exchange. Taylor was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound.

“Many people use our police department as a place where they can exchange their children for custody, if you want to call it neutral territory or where they feel safe coming to the police department to do that. So that's not unusual,” Dye said. “It's unusual for something like this to happen – the incident we had tonight that turned violent with the shooting.”

The deputy chief stressed that the scene could have been even more deadly.

“It's terrible. Especially when a child is involved and we're here in public firing indiscriminate shots while cars are going by on Highway 90. Our hiking trail is right next to us and there's a grocery store across the street,” Dye said.

We will update this story as new information becomes available.

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