By Brian Livingston
Investigators with the Lauderdale County Sheriff's department have all but ruled out any foul play in a Friday night shooting incident that resulted in the death of a Meridian Man.
LCSD Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun said Matthew Netto, 27, died at a Meridian hospital early Saturday morning from a single gunshot wound. Calhoun said the incident was a tragic sequence of events.
"As a law enforcement officer you see a lot of tragedies but that doesn't make them any easier to take," said Calhoun Monday morning. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of friends of this young man."
Calhoun said a death investigation, in which investigators try to determine the circumstances surrounding a death, was launched. Calhoun said physical evidence and statements from those at the residence when the incident occurred seem to point to an accidental discharge of a semi-automatic handgun.
Out of sensitivity for the family Calhoun wouldn't go into details of the incident only to say Netto and five other friends were at a home located on Marion Russell Road when the incident occurred. Calhoun said the call of an accidental shooting came into Central Dispatch at about 10:15 p.m.
"This is an especially terrible time for this to happen right before a major holiday," Calhoun said.
