2 Mississippi police officers fatally shot; 2 suspects sought

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- A law enforcement spokesman says two police officers have been fatally shot following a traffic stop in the southern Mississippi city of Hattiesburg and that two suspects fled and are believed armed and dangerous.

Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said one officer stopped a 2000 Gold Cadillac Escalade in an industrial corridor about 8:30 p.m. CDT Saturday, a second officer arrived to assist him and shots were fired.

Strain says both officers died of their injuries at a hospital.

Authorities are searching for two male suspects, 26-year-old Curtis Banks and 29-year-old Marvin Banks.

Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree urged residents to stay inside their homes during the search, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reported.

"The men and women who go out every day to protect us, the men and woman who go out every day to make sure that we're safe, they were turned on (Saturday) night," DuPree told reporters outside a local hospital, according to the paper.

The newspaper reported these are the first Hattiesburg officers to die in the line of duty in 30 years.

A call to Hattiesburg police was not immediately returned.