An elderly Mississippi couple was killed after a teenager allegedly broke into their home, resulting in a shootout with sheriff’s deputies when they arrived to check on the couple.

Cordarius Hobbs, 17, is charged with breaking into the Mendenhall, Mississippi, home of 74-year-old Billy Blair and his 71-year-old wife Virginia Carol Blair, killing the couple and then pinning down sheriff’s deputies with gunfire when they arrived to find the burglary in process, WLBT in Jackson reported.

The suspect made his first appearance before a judge earlier this week.

Mendenhall, with a population that hardly exceeds 2,200 residents, is located about 30 miles south of Jackson and the county seat where the sheriff’s office is located.

Simpson County deputies were dispatched to the couple’s home at around 12:24 on June 3 after family members couldn’t reach the couple, according to news reports.

Police were met by gunfire when they arrived and they, as well as civilians in the area, were “pinned down” by the shots, said Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin.

With multiple rounds being fired from the residence, the county’s SWAT team was dispatched.

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey told news outlets that the 17-year-old suspect eventually told law enforcement he would surrender at the front door. Instead, he ran out through the back of the house, initiating a chase.

While fleeing, the suspect was shot by a state trooper. Once he was in custody, the suspect was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The sheriff also said one deputy was shot but now is in stable condition and recovering at home.

Prosecutors have charged Hobbs as an adult with two counts of capital murder, one count of burglary, four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and two counts of aggravated assault over 65 years old, Fox News reported.

In a statement on Facebook, the couple’s family said, “We are crushed in spirit, bruised, and brokenhearted, but we are not alone,” WLBT reported.

Jason Busby, who was friends with the couple, told WLBT the couple was extremely selfless.

“The man would’ve given you the shirt off his back, his wife is the same, and they’re just great people. It’s just a tragedy,” Busby said. “Everybody around here is still in shock. They were just good people.”

Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.