DEATH WISH
Pascagoula, named for an indigenous Native America tribe, is a sleepy town of 20,000 on the Mississippi coast. It's most famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) for the 1973 alleged alien abduction of two fisherman. Proving that the local denizens have a sense of humor about the incident, it's celebrated every October with an event known as "Goula-Palooza" where participants wear their best tinfoil hats and extraterrestrial attire.
April 16th 2026 began as routinely as any of the other 2,456 days that I had worked for the Board of Supervisors. As a Computer Technician, I'm one of the few employees who actually visits every department in the county. My service zone extends from the Ocean Springs Harbor to the Trent Lott International Airport in Helena and as far north as Vancleave and Whispering Pines Golf Course. With such a wide and diverse area, it's not a stretch to claim that I never have the same day twice.
For the past few years (weather permitting), I've taken to walking on my lunch break. I've found the sunshine and fresh air to be relaxing and it gives me a healthy break from staring at a computer screen for 8 hours a day.
This day was no different, though I noticed about halfway through my typical 3-mile walk that the approaching summer calefaction would soon make it unbearable. However, strong gusts of wind coming off the Gulf managed to temporarily cool the ambient air and make my sunny stroll quiet tolerable. As I explained to my coworkers, I can physically withstand the 100-degree temps but rather returning to my office drenched in sweat is what I take exception to.
At approximately 12:10, I was walking the last quarter-mile when I heard a series of five or six sharp, rapid-fire cracks that immediately shattered the silence of the otherwise calm day. It was such an aberrant and unexpected noise that it immediately stopped me in my tracks.
Ingalls Shipbuilding is the largest employer in the state and is literally a stone's throw across the Pascagoula river from my walking loop. Two years ago, they were awarded a $9.6 Billion contract to build four amphibious warships for the Navy (3 Flight II San Antonio-class LPDs and 1 LHA) so I'm accustomed to hearing various machinery and construction clamor related to that. In fact, it's so common and ordinary that I've largely tuned it out on my hikes.
But these new sounds were unusual and different; I briefly entertained the idea that they were indeed gunshots but such a conclusion seemed ridiculous given that it was in the most heavily populated part of Pascagoula. After all, Resurrection Catholic School was just a block away from me, as well as various other shops and eateries. Nothing bad ever happens there, I reassured myself.
Trying feebly to process and rationalize what I'd heard, I frantically looked around to see if I could spot someone—anyone— with a nail gun or something similar I thought could replicate that disturbing resonance. I imagined a roofer on top of the school replacing the shingles but couldn't see any indication of such activity.
And before I could speculate any further, the deafening silence was interrupted by multiple firecracker-like pops that I knew emanated from a handgun.
The realization hit me like a bucket of ice-water and I grasped that something very bad was unfolding. Even worse, I immediately felt an ominous sensation in the pit of my stomach warning me to stay away from the area where the gunfire was originating. Meanwhile, multiple sirens in the distance were drawing closer and I saw a Pascagoula Police car speeding down the next street over.
I quickly pulled out my phone and switched it to video to try to capture some of the gunfire exchange I was hearing. But after a minute of recording, I realized that in my nervousness I'd neglected to actually start the recording. Regrettably, I'm sure the same thing would have happened if I'd been abducted by aliens and not been able to document any of it!
Next, I hastily composed a quick text to Amanda to apprise her of the situation and let her know I was unhurt. Before the advent of cellphones and the internet, I could have possibly gone the whole day without alarming her. But with everything unfolding in real time now, and it being in the direct proximity of my workplace, I knew she would panic if she didn't hear from me immediately.
Previously, I worked at a bank for 15 years where there was always the distant threat of a robbery. Although I knew a lot of other employees who had altercations with armed individuals, I always counted myself fortunate that I was never involved with one. So when I started my current job here in 2019, it's literally the last thing I ever thought I'd have to worry about.
Regrettably, our campus has the highest concentration of public servants and elected officials in the county, so if a private citizen feels they were given a raw deal in any civil or criminal matter, it's likely the responsible party works here.
And unfortunately, in today's unhinged society people are much more inclined and willing to attempt to "settle the score" than to simply accept it and move forward. During my tenure here, there have been several incidents where individuals have become quite hostile over items such as unpaid taxes and car tags. Due to feeling disenfranchised, they are already predisposed to bad behavior. But when it also involves taking their money, it becomes as combustible as pouring gasoline on a fire.
As I approached the property where the Service Complex sits, I could see Police officers stationed at every corner. A woman on a motorcycle had just been forced to turn around and she was heading towards me. She stopped an uttered a phrase to me I never imagined I'd hear in my community: She bluntly stated that I couldn't go that way because it was blocked by an "Active Shooter." I felt like Rory McIlroy had suddenly tee'd a 400-yard drive off my head as I tried to process the gravity of her words.
Sadly, as a society we've become desensitized to such a frightening expression because it's become so overused in articles and news reports. I've even been guilty of marginalizing it myself because I truthfully never thought it would happen to me. I used to ridicule Amanda's best friend who worked at an elementary school because she constantly preached the necessity of being prepared for just such a situation.
Suddenly, my phone rang and it was Chris, a co-worker in my office who had heard the news on a police scanner. He was calling to see where I was and to make sure I was safe. I informed him of my location and told him I was presently unhurt, but I didn't know how things would develop. He said he was at home on his lunch break and was going to remote into our camera system to see if he could glean any knowledge of what was happening.
Predictably, it was complete chaos with all kinds of misinformation floating around. Attempting to stem a rising panic, authorities were telling news outlets that there was not an active shooter but for everyone in the area to remain indoors. Amanda texted me saying she heard the shooter was on the roof of one of the county buildings, and a deputy sheriff told me they were looking for multiple suspects.
Even with my County badge I was not allowed to enter the building. Furthermore, I had only taken my cell phone with me— my wallet, keys and other personal belongings were all on the second floor, literally leaving me stranded. Worse yet, I wasn't permitted to stay in the parking lot and was forced to completely evacuate the area. At this point, I couldn't even call 911 for help!
I felt like a sitting duck because there was so much uncertainty and nowhere to seek shelter. With the amount of gunfire being exchanged, I knew there was a good probability that I could be hit by a stray bullet. Meanwhile, another coworker, Richard, called and said he was locked in a Coldwell Banker office down the street. He had been running errands on his lunch break and was now trapped there indefinitely.
Mercifully, the relentless shooting stopped and an eerie calm descended over the area. A thousand thoughts swirled in my head and I was trying to determine if the silence meant the shooter was dead or that he had escaped?
Chris was keeping in close contact with me, but unfortunately the shootout occurred in a part of the complex where we didn't have good camera coverage so it was difficult to tell what was happening.
But, slowly the details began to reveal themselves.
The lone suspect was identified as 59-year-old David Ray Wyrick of Eden, North Carolina. A lifelong felon, he racked up 9 criminal charges between 1983-2000. In 2003, he shot and killed a man claiming self-defense and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. However, he was released just 3 months later in February 2004. Between 2007-2024, he accumulated five more criminal charges although no details are available.
His behavior became increasingly erratic in 2025 after he reportedly began "putting boulders in the roadway and tampering with fire hydrants" in Key Largo, Florida. When confronted by authorities, he attempted to stab one with a pocket knife and then hit another in the face with a homemade metal pipe affixed with a rusty nail in it. Despite being charged with a litany of offenses such as attempted manslaughter, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and resisting arrest with violence, he was somehow back home in Swansboro, North Carolina by October 2025.
In November, a warrant was issued for his arrest for a probation violation stemming from the Key West incident. Among his identifying characteristics were a cross tattoo on his chest, a sun with a cross on his right arm, and “One Judge” on his back. He was apprehended in Canada on on January 21, 2026 although it's not clear how or why he was able to make his way to Pascagoula on April 16th.
He quickly stole a white Chevrolet Silverado from a construction site just two blocks over from the County Complex. With two propane tanks in the truck bed, he crashed the vehicle into a fence surrounding the dispatch communications tower and a big yellow diesel tank. He then proceeded to set the propane tanks on fire in hopes of creating a catastrophic explosion that would engulf downtown, killing hundreds of people and causing millions in damage.
Wyrick's Formula for Maximum Carnage: Propane + Truck (Gasoline) x Diesel = BIG BOOM!
Luckily, an inmate was outside the Sheriff's office washing the vehicles when he saw Wyrick ram the fence. Ironically, I had just walked in that building an hour earlier to help Carolyn Lewis, one of the assistant district attorneys, with a printer problem.
We have a camera positioned at the entrance of the Sheriff's office, so afterwards I was able to watch the inmate excitedly rush in and summon help. Initially, I don't believe they realized it was a terrorist act and instead thought the crash was accidental. You can see the skepticism in the two deputies body language as they reluctantly walk outside to see what the inmate is wildly gesticulating about. One is even casually drinking a can of Coca-Cola. A few seconds later, a female deputy sprints out the front door and within the next minute she is joined by several more officers. After that, all hell breaks loose.
It was inspiring, yet also frightening, to see detectives I've worked closely with charge unselfishly into that danger zone. Jerry is an investigator who works on the second floor and has a beautiful wife. He didn't have to get involved, but he was one of the first to rush outside with his pistol in his hand. Same with Hema, a female deputy who typically conducts Taser training. She has a husband and two sons, yet she also risked her life to protect everyone else. It's terrifying to think they could have lost their lives to something as senseless as this. To me, that is the definition of a true hero.
A couple times, Sheriff John Ledbetter is seen, but there's no way to tell how embroiled he was in the conflict. However, former Sheriff Mike Byrd (who served from 2000-2013) was quite enthusiastic in prosecuting lawbreakers in Jackson County. He's most renowned for a 2012 highway chase in which he apprehended the fleeing suspect by shooting out his rear tire at 85 mph. Regrettably, his legacy was tarnished by what many what consider to be typical Southern corruption— he was indicted on a total of 29 felony and 2 misdemeanor charges for such things as using his office to retaliate against perceived enemies, ordering deputies and office staff to raise money for private causes, concealing a shooting at a county narcotics task force office, pressuring witnesses to falsely testify before a grand jury, punishing a female deputy who rebuffed his sexual advances, and perhaps most humorously, demanding free lawn mower repair. Despite that, he was quite beloved in the community and had a reputation for always trying to help people. In fact, he was instrumental in getting my Mother her Concealed Carry permit. After a brief sentence consisting of six months of home confinement and six months of probation, he passed away to Covid in 2020.
Although details (and camera footage) are sketchy, Wyrick apparently exchanged fire with authorities before getting pinned down behind a brick building on our property. I don't know how many shots he fired, but thankfully none of our personnel were harmed. However, the same cannot be said for him as it was reported that between 50-150 shots were fired by officers consisting of the Sheriff's Department, Pascagoula Police Department and the Narcotics Task Force, whose office is directly across the street. One individual I spoke with who viewed the bodycam footage stated that Wyrick would not surrender and even after sustaining several non-lethal injuries, simply refused to stay down, compelling law-enforcement to fill him with more lead than a fleet of Teslas.
As such, it appears that Wyrick chose death by Firing Squad, a method that is indeed a legal form of execution in Mississippi, although it hasn't been used since the early 1900s. Interestingly, only four other states (South Carolina, Idaho, Oklahoma and Utah) employ it for Capital Punishment. By his actions, Wyrick inadvertently joined Brad Sigmon from South Carolina who was also killed by Firing Squad on March 7th. It's the the first use of that technique in the U.S. since 2010 and was specifically chosen because Sigmon deemed it preferable to the electric chair and lethal injection.
In regards to whether or not a Firing Squad is more humane, it is considered the quickest and least complicated form of execution. For instance, the sole research on this subject (conducted in Utah in 1938) determined that death occurred in under a minute while lethal injection takes a minimum of seven minutes and electrocution can last between two to fifteen minutes. Although it's not known the type of bullets used on Wyrick, Sigmon was shot with .308 Winchester Tap Urban bullets. Known colloquially as "Hollow Points" these rounds are specifically designed for rapid fragmentation, which creates a large, entrance wound for maximum damage while reducing the risk of collateral injury after exiting the body. Medical experts have debated the amount of pain they may cause." For Sigmon, I believe the suffering would be very brief and less excruciating than the gruesome way he bludgeoned an elderly husband and wife to death with a baseball bat.
As far as I've heard, there was no suicide note or motive other than one isolated account where it was claimed he was yelling the name, "Pete Pope" who was the Jackson County Sheriff from 1988 until 2000. This discovery potentially creates more questions than answers but is seemingly all we're left with as this chapter is irrevocably closed. To name-drop such an obscure reference would seemingly indicate that Wyrick had some previous contact with the former Sheriff and it likely did not end well. However, online records indicate that as far back as 1986 he was a resident of North Carolina so if there was an altercation, it seems likely he was just visiting.
Otherwise, the complete randomness of him showing up in Pascagoula and attempting to blow up the County Complex at noon on a Thursday is mind-boggling. Surely, no criminal expert would accuse him of any extensive premeditation. Instead, it seems more like an impulsive crime of opportunity, perhaps motivated by mental illness.
An examination of the few, available facts point solely to one conclusion and it's that David Ray Wyrick was a very unstable individual, quite possibly from birth. A documented history of violence as early as his teenage years was the precursor to four-decades of lawlessness that culminated with his death. The judicial system failed him and us in that he never received appropriate treatment and was simply allowed to avoid any lengthy incarceration.
In the immediate aftermath, employees were sequestered for safety until every office in every building was searched and confirmed to be secure. Some were reportedly traumatized by having to walk past the body as they were escorted to their cars. For reasons unclear, Wyrick's corpse remained in the parking lot until nearly 8 PM.
I was eventually picked up on the side of the road by two girls from the Tax Collector office who had heard it was finally safe to return. Suddenly, we were no longer acquaintances who barely spoke when passing in the halls, but now family due to the horrible ordeal we had survived together. It's sad to say, but chaos really does unite people. Then they told me about one woman who was so desperate to get her car tag that she refused to leave when they were ordered to evacuate. Apparently, the possibility of getting shot was more desirable than having to wait in that line again!
Honestly, I didn't expect to be affected by the whole ordeal as deeply as I was, and I even had trouble falling asleep that night. When I finally did, it was restless and uneasy. The next morning as I awoke, I had one singular thought:
I was just grateful to be alive.
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