Officials with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation have been notified about a teenager who was driving with a gunshot wound to the head in Neshoba County on Christmas Day.
According to Philadelphia Police Chief Eric Lyons, an officer noticed a vehicle with bullet holes and a rear window shot out in the parking lot of the Philadelphia Library on Monday just after 11 a.m.
The officer made contact with the driver, who was later discovered to be 17 years old, and noticed an open container of alcohol in the console and smelled a marijuana odor in the car. It appeared the driver was under the influence.
When the officer called for backup, the driver took off in the wrong direction on Beacon Street. The teen was pursued to the point of reaching Meridian. About one mile onto Highway 19, officers spotted the vehicle drifting off the road and into the median before coming to a stop.
Authorities approached the vehicle and saw that the unidentified male teenager was unresponsive, bleeding from the head, and had a handgun in his lap.
First aid was administered to the 17-year-old by police until ambulatory services arrived. The driver was taken to Anderson Hospital in Meridian before being transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He is listed in critical condition.
