Man shot during traffic stop dies

A man who allegedly shot himself when pulled over for a traffic stop in Hattiesburg early Wednesday morning has died.

According to Forrest County Coroner Butch Benedict, Jevon Tyrone Perry, 22, of New Orleans died Saturday at Forrest General.

Perry died from a gunshot wound to the head, and his death is pending further investigation, Benedict said.

Hattiesburg Police Department spokesman Lt. Jon Traxler said he had no additional information Sunday.

Because the death was from a gunshot wound, Perry's body will not be sent to the state crime lab for autopsy, Benedict said.

According to police, the incident occurred just after 2 a.m. Wednesday on Hardy Street at the southbound off-ramp for Interstate 59.

Around 2:10 a.m. a Hattiesburg police officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a small sport-utility vehicle, Traxler said.

"During the traffic stop, the driver suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound," he said.

It took nearly four hours for public safety officials to process and clear the scene.

Officials from the Forrest County Sheriff's Department, Hattiesburg Fire Department and the Southern Miss Police Department assisted Hattiesburg police as they investigated the scene.