On May 6, 1998, Detective James Franklin Northcutt, 54, was killed while responding to a domestic disturbance in Long Beach, Mississippi. Northcutt had been with the Long Beach Police Department for about a year, after a 33-year law enforcement career. He and his partner, Sergeant Steven Morgan, were shot when a man wearing fatigues and a bulletproof vest opened fire with an AR-15 as officers arrived.

A .223 round severed Northcutt’s femoral artery; he died at the scene despite immediate aid. Sergeant Morgan was also fatally wounded and later died at a hospital; a third officer was injured but survived. An off-duty officer from another department shot and killed the gunman. The attacker had reportedly come armed after a recent breakup and intended to harm his ex-girlfriend and her mother before killing himself.

Northcutt was survived by his wife and five children. Does anyone have memories of Detective Northcutt or information about the night that could shed more light on what happened?