A murder suspect being interviewed at the Jackson, Miss., police headquarters shot a detective Thursday and those who came to investigate the gunfire found both men dead, authorities said. 
 
 Law enforcement officers wait at the entrance to the Jackson Police Department Thursday, April, 4, 2013, after police say a murder suspect fatally shot detective Eric Smith inside the headquarters. The... (Associated Press) 
 
 Jackson, Miss. Assistant Chief Lee Vance, center left, comforts Chief Rebecca Coleman, center right, Thursday, April, 4, 2013, after detective Eric Smith was shot and killed inside the Jackson Police... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this 2008 image provided by the Jackson, Miss. Police, Detective Eric Smith, center, flanked by Chief Rebecca Coleman, left, and Assistant Chief Lee Vance accepts the Certificate of Commendation on... (Associated Press) 
 
 The suspect was being questioned on the third floor of the building when the shooting happened, said Police Chief Rebecca Coleman. Police did not release any details on the sequence of what happened. 
 
 The officer was identified as Det. Eric Smith, 40, who was assigned to the Robbery-Homicide Division and had been with the department since 1995. 
 
 Late Thursday, police identified the murder suspect as Jeremy Powell, 23. Both the detective and the suspect had been shot multiple times. 
 
 Police said Powell was in the process of being arrested in the killing Monday of Christopher Alexander. News outlets reported that the 20-year-old Alexander's body was found Monday near a Jackson street and he had been stabbed in the neck. 
 
 City police spokesman Chris Mims described Smith as "a decorated detective and well-respected law-enforcement person throughout the state of Mississippi." 
 
 "He was in the processing of questioning that suspect," Mims said of the detective. "Other officers in the police department heard gunshots ring out and when they went to the interview room, discovered that both the suspect and the detective were deceased." 
 
 The police headquarters was on lockdown Thursday night, Mims said. 
 
 Jackson City Councilman Chokwe Lumumba was in police headquarters with the mayor afterward and said Smith was shot by the suspect. He did not know how the suspect ended up dead. 
 
 "I understand there may have been more than one police officer in the room," Lumumba said outside the police building. 
 
 The headquarters was blocked off and surrounded by crime tape. Law enforcement and Jackson city officials rushed to the scene. 
 
 Mims said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation, which is standard procedure. 
 
 "This is a very tragic situation," he said. "The entire city of Jackson and the Jackson Police Department family are all hurting. We are asking for the public's patience while we find out why this tragic incident happened and how it happened." 
 
 At least 30 Jackson Police and Hines County Sheriff's office vehicles were haphazardly parked across multiple, major downtown Jackson streets. Officers were visibly shaken, wiping their eyes, and Assistant Chief Lee Vance could be seen comforting Chief Rebecca Coleman at one point, putting his arm around her shoulder outside the building. A 2008 photo on the department's website shows a smiling, fit Smith, in a shirt and tie, accepting a certificate of commendation on behalf of a detective, with Coleman and Vance on each side of him. 
 
 Lumumba, who is a lawyer, said Smith was fairly new to being a homicide detective and that he first met Smith in the late 1990s. The then-officer had testified on some of Lumumba's cases. 
 
 "I had great respect for his work and his integrity," Lumumba said. He added that Smith's stepson had played basketball on an Amateur Athletic Union team that Lumumba worked with. 
 
 "Eric helped take young men all over the country," the councilman said. "He's a real man in every sense of the word." 
 
 Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. also addressed the officer's death. 
 
 "Detective Smith was an excellent officer in all respects," the mayor said. "I want everyone to keep the Smith family in their prayers and in their thoughts." 
 
 Lumumba said that Smith was married and had another son. 
 
 A monument outside police headquarters lists 14 officers killed in the line of duty _ before today. 
 
 ____ 
 
 Mohr reported from Brandon, Miss. AP writer Jackie Quinn reported from Washington. ||||| (CNN) -- A veteran detective and the murder suspect he was interviewing were killed Thursday in a shooting inside the Jackson, Mississippi, police headquarters. 
 
 Detective Eric Smith, 40, was talking with suspect Jeremy Powell, 23, when the shots were fired, Jackson police said. 
 
 Other law enforcement officers overheard the gunshots and rushed into the room, said a shaken Chris Mims, a spokesman for Mayor Harvey Johnson. 
 
 They found both people dead. 
 
 The incident occurred around 6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET). One hour later, the situation was contained, according to Othor Cain, a spokesman for the Hinds County Sheriff's Department,. 
 
 The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into what happened, Mims said. 
 
 Jackson, a city of about 175,000 residents, is the capital of Mississippi. 
 
 CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report. ||||| The search continues for gunmen who ambushed a backyard get-together Wednesday night in Wilkinsburg, claiming the lives of six people, including an 8-month-old fetus, and wounding three others. 
 
 
 
 Emergency dispatchers confirmed that police and seven ambulances were called to Franklin Avenue just before 11 p.m. for the mass shooting. 
 
 
 
 Authorities said four women and one man were killed. Three of the women and the man were pronounced dead at the scene. The fourth woman was pronounced dead at UPMC Mercy Hospital. 
 
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 The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victims as 35-year-old Jerry Shelton, 37-year-old Tina Shelton, 27-year-old Brittany Powell, 25-year-old Chanetta Powell and 26-year-old Shada Mahone. 
 
 Jerry Shelton, Brittany Powell and Chanetta Powell were siblings. Their mother, Jessica Shelton, also lost two nieces in the shooting and another of her sons was among the wounded. She said all five victims had children. 
 
 
 
 "Right now, I have no choice but to be strong. I have grandkids that I have to be strong for and live for," she said. 
 
 
 
 Several of her grandchildren were inside the house when the shooting began. 
 
 
 
 "He said, 'I seen mommy and them on the ground. So I didn't want the bad man to get me, so I ran upstairs,'" Jessica Shelton said. 
 
 
 
 Jessica Shelton also confirmed that her daughter, Chanetta Powell, was eight months pregnant. Allegheny County police said during a news conference Thursday afternoon that the death of the unborn child was ruled a homicide, bringing the number of people killed to six. 
 
 
 
 Tina Shelton's father, Vernes Pugh, said his daughter was a mother of five. 
 
 
 
 He called the people responsible for her death cowards. 
 
 
 
 “It’s a terroristic act going after innocent people like it’s an everyday thing. I don’t understand that,” Pugh said. 
 
 
 
 Bruce Mullen, Tina Shelton's father-in-law, said his son met Tina more than 20 years ago. 
 
 
 
 “We know, as the biological grandfather, that her children are going to get just as much love and attention as she gave them, although she can’t be replaced,” Mullen said. 
 
 Shada Mahone’s mother, Latonya Jackson, said that she dropped her daughter off at the party after work, just 15 minutes before the shootings. 
 
 She said she still remembers Shada’s last words to her. 
 
 “She always said, ‘Thank you, mommy,’ even at 26, she still called me mommy,” said Jackson. 
 
 
 
 Three surviving shooting victims were taken from the scene in ambulances. Of those victims, two men were listed in critical condition, police said. 
 
 
 
 Channel 11's Steven Fisher reported a 41-year-old woman who was wounded was treated and released from the hospital. 
 
 
 
 Carla Brown, whose daughters used to cheer with Brittany Powell and Chanetta Powell in high school, stopped by the house Friday to say a prayer for the victims. Flowers, stuffed animals and candles adorned the home's front porch. 
 
 
 
 “I actually meant to go to the store, and my feet just led me here,” Brown told Channel 11’s Jennifer Tomazic. “My heart just broke. How somebody could do this and walk away?” 
 
 
 
 Like others in the community, Brown is anxious to see arrests made. She had the following message to whomever is responsible. 
 
 
 
 “You're a coward. That was a cowardly act,” Brown said. “I hope to God the police catch everyone involved, and I hope they know there is space reserved in the hottest part of Hell for people who do things like this.” 
 
 
 
 According to authorities, the shooting happened during a backyard party/cookout at 1304 Franklin Ave. Shots were fired from an alley behind the home. 
 
 
 
 "The murders were planned, calculated, brutal," Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said. 
 
 
 
 He told Channel 11 News 15 people were in the backyard when one shooter with a .40-caliber handgun approached from the alley and began shooting. 
 
 
 
 As partygoers attempted to run into the home, another shooter with an AK-47 assault-style rifle fired at them. Police believe both shooters fled on foot. 
 
 
 
 Neither weapon has been recovered. Officers removed 48 shell casings from the scene. 
 
 
 
 "We haven't seen something like this for quite some time, if we've ever seen something like this in terms of planning, taking lives," Zappala said. 
 
 
 
 Lt. Andrew Schurman, of the Allegheny County Homicide Unit, said all four people who died at the scene passed away on the back porch. 
 
 
 
 A motive wasn't immediately known, but drugs have not been ruled out. 
 
 
 
 Allegheny County police officials said Thursday afternoon they had no firm suspects. 
 
 
 
 “In an unsolved homicide, everybody is a person of interest. There are some we are more interested in than others,” Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffat said during a press conference Thursday afternoon. 
 
 
 
 As far as a motive, "everything is on the table," police said. 
 
 
 
 Zappala’s office said detectives have a number of theories they are working, including one in which one of the three survivors was the target of the gunmen. However, the district attorney’s office said the theory does little to explain the indiscriminate shooting and killing of the other victims. 
 
 
 
 Patrols are being stepped up as a precaution for potential retaliation. 
 
 
 
 “In any violent crime and the investigation surrounding it, we are always concerned about retaliation. So specific to this one, it's the same,” Schurman said Friday. 
 
 
 
 The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. 
 
 
 
 Anyone with information can call 1-800-283-4867. 
 
 Schurman said that police have received a number of tips from the hotline but would not elaborate. 
 
 
 
 Meanwhile, the Wilkinsburg School District is offering counseling to students. 
 
 
 
 “We have had group sessions where we have brought people together, but students have been informed if you want to talk to students privately, those services are also available,” acting Superintendent John Frombach said. 
 
 New law enforcement strategy 
 
 Friday, police presence was increased in Homewood and the East Hills as part of a new law enforcement strategy following the shooting. 
 
 Channel 11 was there as officers searched a car, later releasing the driver. 
 
 Police Zone 5 commander did confirm to Channel 11’s Joe Holden that police are trying to limit the chance of retaliation. 
 
 Show of Support 
 
 While the deadly shooting may have happened in Wilkinsburg, many across the state shared their thoughts and condolences with those impacted by the violence. 
 
 “All of us at the state stand ready to provide whatever assistance to the city and county would like to provide,” Gov. Tom Wolf said. “Mass shootings happen too often, and we have to do what we have to do to find a solution.” 
 
 “It’s just a horrible feeling for all of us here in this community when you think about a family in a backyard, and gun violence shatters the family and community,” Allegheny County Executive Rick Fitzgerald said. 
 
 "My prayers are with the victims, their friends, and their families after this senseless act of violence, and we must come together as a community to support them as they find healing. I cannot imagine the grief they are experiencing. There is absolutely no place in our society for this horrific violence. Godspeed to law enforcement authorities, as they seek to identify the gunmen and bring justice for the victims' families," U.S. Representative Keith Rothfus (PA-12) said. 
 
 “My deepest prayers and sincerest thoughts are with victims and families impacted by the tragic shooting. My hope is that violent acts will cease and that community restoration and peace will occur for the people of Wilkinsburg. #‎PrayforWilkinsburg,” Pittsburgh Steelers safety Will Allen, who has been very active in the Wilkinsburg football community, said in a written statement. 
 
 The Center for Victims of Violence and Crime has also pledged its support to the people of Wilkinsburg. The center offers therapy and counseling for the victims’ families, as well as witnesses. 
 
 "We are there to support community members, school districts, community centers,” Tracey Provident, vice president of the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime, said. “Really, it doesn't just impact one person. It has a ripple effect on the entire community." 
 
 The center also offers financial support for families, helping to cover funeral costs and any future court fees. For more information, CLICK HERE. 
 
 Donations for loved ones of the victims are also being accepted at any Citizens Bank for the Shelton-Powell Memorial Fund. A GoFundMe page has also been created. 
 
 A fund has also been set-up for Shada Mahone's 5-year-old daughter. Donations can be made to the Shada Mahone Memorial Fund at any PNC Bank branch.
– A murder suspect and the detective who was questioning him were both found dead at police headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi. As detective Eric Smith, 40, interviewed Jeremy Powell, 23, other officers heard gunshots. They entered the room to find the men dead, CNN reports. Police haven't offered a sequence of events in the shooting, the AP notes, though both men suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Powell was being questioned in the process of being arrested in the murder of Christopher Alexander, 20, who was stabbed in the neck. Smith had begun homicide work fairly recently, said a city councilman, who noted that "there may have been more than one police officer in the room." The effects of the shooting rippled through Jackson, with police cars parked across major streets and officers comforting each other, the AP notes. "The entire city of Jackson and the Jackson Police Department family are all hurting," said a police spokesman.