"At this time, the security guard has not been charged," Deputy
Police Chief Ron Sampson said. The guard's identity has not been
released by police officials.
The shooting
occurred shortly after 3 a.m. outside the Block To Block Lounge
on Medgar Evers Boulevard at West Ridgeway Street, according to
a statement released Friday afternoon by the Jackson Police
Department.
Investigators say
31-year-old James Bridgeman Jr. of Jackson got into an argument
over parking with security guards at the club.
"According to
witnesses, Bridgeman left the scene, returned with an assault
rifle and pointed the weapon at the security guards," the
statement said. Bridgeman also had put on the bullet-resistant
vest.
At least one of
the guards fired at Bridgeman, Sampson said.
Bridgeman was
pronounced dead at the scene.
Despite wearing a
vest, Bridgeman was hit multiple times in the head and upper
body, Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart said.
"I have not yet
been able to determine which of the shots was fatal," she said.
Bridgeman's
family could not be reached for comment. The club appeared
closed Friday evening, and the owner also could not be reached.
While police
officials have not filed any charges in the city's fourth
homicide of the year, investigators have questioned the guards
as well as people who were at the club.
Sampson said the
guards were not off-duty police officers.
"They were people
hired by the somebody at the club," he said. "They will be
checked out to see if they are licensed and bonded and insured
by the business and all that."
Investigators
also are running a trace on the gun to determine its origins and
whether it was stolen, Sampson said. Police officials have not
disclosed what type of rifle it is.
Sampson said it
is not common - but also not unheard of - for civilians to
possess bullet-resistant vests.
"Well, they're
not illegal. You can go down to one of the gun shows and get
one," Sampson said. "From time to time, we do run into people
who have body armor."
The empty lot
next to Block To Block was the scene of another deadly shooting
last year.
On March 26,
Jacob Bell Jr., 34, was shot multiple times in his back, leg and
buttocks.
Bell later died
at St. Dominic/Jackson Memorial Hospital.
