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- Murder Suspect
Apprehended
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- Gunfire and chase lead to
arrest
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- The alleged murderer of Ariadne Purity Knight was
arrested early this morning after a violent confrontation
with an off-duty Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's
Department officer.
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- Edward Arthur Pierce, 24, an undergraduate at the
University of Mississippi, was taken into custody at 3:46
a.m., after reports of gunshots in the vicinity of
Courthouse Square brought Sheriff's Department officers
patrolling in the area to the scene, according to
Sheriff's Department Information Officer Elizabeth Jones.
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- A confrontation between Pierce and off-duty sheriff's
deputy David Anderson in Courthouse Square had ended in
violence, with both parties opening fire on each other,
Jones said. Anderson was wounded in the encounter, and
fled on foot in the direction of Square Books, with
Pierce in pursuit, according to Jones.
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- Officers arriving on the scene surrounded Pierce, who
was firing at Anderson from behind the statue in the
square, Jones said, adding that Pierce "stopped shooting,
placed his gun on the pedestal of the statue, and lay on
the ground" when he realized he was surrounded. Anderson
was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital to be treated for
a gunshot wound to the shoulder, according to Jones.
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- Physicians at the hospital refused to comment on
Anderson's condition, but confirmed that as of press time
Anderson had not been released. Jones would not release
further details of the encounter between Anderson and
Pierce, saying only that a search of Pierce's apartment
has turned up "conclusive evidence" as to his role in the
Knight murder.
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- Knight's body was found buried in a large wooden box
in the woods behind Fairlawn Cemetery, 1333 Fairlawn
Drive, on June 9, after Knight disappeared March 3.
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- Jones said Pierce has so far refused to speak to law
enforcement officials or answer questions.
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