Columbus mayor’s son Robert Smith Jr. dead from gunshot

Published 6:44 am Thursday, December 15, 2016

COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) — Authorities say the 39-year-old son of a north Mississippi mayor has been shot to death in his own home.

Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant tells the Commercial Dispatch that Robert Smith Jr. was killed Wednesday.

He was the eldest son of Columbus Mayor Robert Smith.

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WCBI-TV reported the younger Smith was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he died.

Merchant says the Columbus Police Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are treating the case as a homicide. Assistant Police Chief Fred Shelton says no arrests were immediately made.

Merchant would not disclose details, such as how many times Smith was shot. He says an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday at the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Pearl.