Three charged in murder of two police officers during traffic stop

HATTIESBURG, Miss., May 10 (UPI) -- Three people have been charged in connection to the shooting death of two police officers during a routine traffic stop in Hattiesburg, Miss., late Saturday.

Hattiesburg Police Department officers Liquori Tate, 24, and Benjamin J. Deen, 34, died shortly after arriving to Forrest General Hospital.

Tate became a police officer in 2014 and Deen was named Officer of the Year in 2012.

Authorities arrested Curtis Banks, 26, Marvin Banks, 29, and Joanie Calloway, 22, early Sunday.

"Agents of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation have charged three people in connection with murders of two Hattiesburg police officers. Marvin Banks, 29, has been charged with two counts of capital murder, one count of grand theft auto and one count of a felon in possession of a firearm," Mississippi's Department of Public Safety said in a statement. "Joanie Calloway, 22, has been charged with two counts of capital murder and Curtis Banks, 26, has been charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder."

A motive has not been announced. Both of the Banks brothers have felony convictions and criminal records for weapons and gun charges.

An abandoned police vehicle was later found, which the suspects allegedly used to flee the scene after the shooting.

Hattiesburg residents Tamika Mills and Pearnell Roberts found the two officers after the shooting and called emergency services.

"Never in my life have I experienced or seen anything like this except on TV, and to be in the midst of it, it's shocking and heartbreaking," Mills said.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, a former law enforcement officer, commented on the officer deaths Sunday morning.

"... I join all Mississippians this morning in mourning the death of our two police officers in Hattiesburg," he said. "This should remind us to thank all law enforcement for their unwavering service to protect and serve."