Vest saves Mississippi deputy as he fakes being dead

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A bullet-proof vest saved a wounded Mississippi deputy when he was shot twice more in the chest by a gunman who approached him as he played dead.

Deputy Daniel Tatum was wounded Friday in Marshall County after being shot in the arm, shoulder and leg by a man who later killed himself after a four-hour standoff. Tatum then played dead on the ground hoping he wouldn’t be shot in the head, Marshall County Sheriff Kenney Dickerson said Saturday.

“But as it turned out, the suspect did in fact approach him -- and him lying there helpless -- and shot him several more times in the chest area,” Dickerson said.

He said the vest stopped two bullets.

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Randy Vaught, 33, killed himself after shooting a deputy and barricading himself in a home for four hours Friday. (Marshall County Sheriff's Office )

“That’s what, without any question, saved his life,” the sheriff said at a news conference. “No doubt in my mind and unequivocally had he not had that vest on he would have expired immediately.”

The sheriff said Randy Vaught, 33, was the person who shot Tatum during an incident that began when Tatum spotted Vaught and two friends leaving a drug house and pulled them over.

After the stop, Vaught sped off when he couldn’t produce a driver’s license and then drove to his mother’s home, WREG-TV reported. He ran into the home as his friends ran off. Later they told cops they had taken meth before Tatum stopped them.

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Dickerson said Tatum was shot initially when he tried to follow Vaught into the home through the back door.

Other deputies arrived on the scene and rescued the wounded Tatum., who was transported to a Memphis hospital where he underwent surgery, the station reported. He faces more surgeries, Dickerson said.

The standoff began with Vaught barricading himself in the home.

As time passed and Dickersonn and deputies tried to convince him to surrender, Vaught posted apologies to his family on Facebook and told them he was going to surrender, according to the station.

The standoff ended around 10:30 p.m. when Vaught emerged, kneeled down and shot himself in the head, Dickerson said.

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"He was very, very lucky," Dickerson said of Tatum. "But you know that type of incident happens in law enforcement and every day life and you know you have to deal with them and you have to deal with them in a fair way and not violate anyone's rights."