Accidental gunshot at car wash not cause of death, officials say | Free News

An Ellisville man died after suffering what was believed to be an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound at a downtown Laurel car wash on Saturday, but that’s not what officials believe caused his death.

Matthew Pippin, 27, was pronounced dead by Coroner Burl Hall at South Central Regional Medical Center shortly after being transported there by EMServ Ambulance from the Rainforest Carwash on Mason Street. 

Initial reports and evidence show that his death is likely the result of a drug overdose, officials said, and a toxicology test has been ordered.

Laurel police responded to a report of a gunshot victim at the business, where plenty of people were getting their vehicles cleaned on a sunny Saturday. The first officers on the scene found the man suffering from a gunshot wound to a “lower extremity,” LPD Capt. Michael Reaves said. It appeared that the gunshot was an accident and self-inflicted, Reaves said. “No foul play is suspected.”

Pippin was apparently vacuuming his vehicle, then took a firearm from inside and was attempting to put it in his back pocket or back waistband when it went off and the bullet went in the back of his left leg, witnesses and other sources with knowledge of the case said. It was believed that he was impaired at the time, they said.

According to Pippin’s current Facebook page, he is from Ellisville but was living in Pachuta. He had a lawn-care service and attended the Southern Regional Public Safety Institute — the law-enforcement training academy at Camp Shelby — after going to Laurel Christian School and Jones County Junior College, according to his profile. He describes himself as “Police at Department of Mental Health.” 

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