Miss. Detective Fatally Shot by Suspect in Interrogation Room

April 5, 2013 — -- A Jackson, Miss., detective was shot and killed in a police interrogation room when a murder suspect overpowered him before turning the gun on himself, according to investigators.

Det. Eric Smith, 40, was shot by The suspect Jeremy Powell, 23, shot Det. Eric Smith, 40, on Thursday evening after Powell was able to take Smith's service weapon from him, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) spokesman Warren Strain told ABC News' Jackson, Miss., affiliate, WAPT.

Powell was arrested on Thursday as a suspect connected to a murder that occurred on Monday. He was taken to the Jackson Police Department headquarters and was being questioned by Smith on the third floor, according to WAPT.

"We heard that shots had been fired," Jackson Police Chief Rebecca Coleman told WAPT. "Upon our arrival, we found the suspect is deceased and we have a police officer deceased."

The police department was put on lockdown after the shooting.

Smith was a veteran police officer who began working for the Jackson Police Department in 1995. He received the Jackson's Best Award in 2012, an award given in Jackson to city employees who go above and beyond the call of duty, WAPT reported.

"Det. Smith was an excellent officer, from all reports," Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson told reporters. "He had just received and been recognized as one of Jackson's best and, obviously, the men and women of the police department are taking this pretty hard."

Police have not released further details on the killing and did not respond to requests for comment today.