Samuel Jerome Andrews arrested in Gulfport AT&T shooting that left Shane Basquill, store worker and Mary Anne Oberlies, customer dead in Mississippi. Keesler ‘Keekee’ Brown hailed a hero for saving customer lives.
A 71-year-old Mississippi man is accused of firing a gun at an AT&T store at a Gulfport store location leading to the deaths of two people, a store employee and customer.
The shooting happened Monday around 11:14 a.m. inside the store at Crossroads Mall.
Samuel Jerome Andrews, 71, according to a witnesses at the scene is alleged to have pulled up to the curb outside the store, gotten out of his truck with a shotgun and head toward the door.
Gulfport AT&T store worker and customer shot dead
Andrews of Harrison County is alleged to have then shot through the door of the store before entering.
Upon entering the store, Andrews fired the gun again, hitting 31-year-old Shane Basquill and 78-year-old Mary Anne Oberlies. Both victims died at the scene, WLOX reported citing Gulfport police.
Basquill was a store employee and Oberlies a customer.
Authorities said there were three other people in the store at the time of the shooting. Those who called 911 were able to give police a description of Andrews’ vehicle as he fled the scene moments later.
Andrews was arrested moments later, with the shotgun in the back of his truck, WLOX reported.
AT&T store worker hailed hero for saving customer lives
Andrews was taken to the Harrison County Adult Detention Center, where he is being held without bond on two counts of first-degree murder and a $500,000 bond for one count of shooting into a crowd.
Read a comment left on the site of WXXV Facebook wall, ‘Keekee V Brown needs recognition for saving the lives of her customers today. She is a true hero. She opens the back door of the at&t building allowing her customers to escape safely. While this animal was shooting in the store. She risked her life to save others. That is a true hero.’
Two witnesses who had arrived at the scene speaking to WLOX, stated of Keekee Brown:
‘Her quick thinking and her actions that she took. And I’m not taking away from anyone in that building, because I believe anyone in that building would’ve done the same. But between Keekee and Shane (the store employee shot dead) — Shane tried his hardest to save us. His family deserves to know that he was trying to save our lives.’
Added the witness, ‘He knew something was going to happen and he tried his best to get there.’
Store dispute days earlier leads to armed suspect returning to AT&T store
Police to date have not said what led to Andrews targeting the AT&T store, whether he had previously been to the outlet and whether he had arrived at the venue with the intent of randomly killing people or specific targets.
An unconfirmed commenter posted, ‘…it started with a dispute on Saturday with AT&T.’
Police to date have yet to confirm the alleged account.
In the hours after the Labor Day shooting, the Gulfport Police Department executed a search warrant on Samuel Andrews’ home on Five Oaks Drive.
WLOX News spoke to neighbors who described Andrews as strange and often combative.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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