Police arrested a 71-year-old Harrison County man after an employee and customer died at the Crossroads Mall store.
GULFPORT, MS — An AT&T employee and a customer were killed Monday morning in a shooting inside a Gulfport store, and police arrested a 71-year-old Harrison County man who now faces two counts of first-degree murder and another felony charge.
Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer identified the victims as Shane Basquill, 31, of Kiln, and Mary Anne Oberlies, 78, of Gulfport. Switzer said Basquill worked at the AT&T store and Oberlies was a customer. Gulfport police said both were pronounced dead at the scene after the shooting, which was reported about 11:14 a.m. Sept. 7 at the Crossroads Mall location.
Gulfport police identified the suspect as Samuel Jerome Andrews, 71, of Harrison County. Police said Andrews entered the store and fired a gun, striking Basquill and Oberlies. Three other people were inside the business at the time, according to the department. Authorities have not announced a possible motive, and the investigation remained active Tuesday.
People inside the store called 911 and provided officers with a description of the suspect’s vehicle, police said. Responding officers then spotted a vehicle matching that description leaving the area. Police stopped the vehicle and took Andrews into custody without incident. Officers also recovered a firearm, according to the department.
A witness interviewed by WLOX said the suspect drove to the curb outside the store and approached the entrance carrying a gun. The witness said shots were fired near the entrance before the gunman went inside. Police have separately confirmed that Andrews entered the business and fired a weapon but have not released a detailed public account of every event leading up to the shooting.
Andrews was taken to the Harrison County Adult Detention Center. Authorities said he is being held without bond on two counts of first-degree murder. A $500,000 bond was set on an additional charge of shooting into a crowd. The charges are accusations, and Andrews is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The shooting occurred at the AT&T Crossroads Center store at 15243 Crossroads Parkway, near Interstate 10 and U.S. 49. AT&T’s online listing for the Gulfport location showed the store closed Tuesday through Friday following the Labor Day shooting, with hours listed again for Saturday. Authorities had not announced when normal operations at the location would resume.
The deaths left investigators working to determine what led to the shooting and whether the victims had any connection to the suspect. Police had not publicly identified a motive as of Tuesday afternoon. No additional injuries were reported among the three other people police said were inside the store.
The Gulfport Police Department continues to investigate the case. No further arrests had been announced, and authorities had not released additional information about a possible motive or the next court proceeding for Andrews as of the latest reports.
Author note: Last updated September 8, 2026.