Campus Alert Archive
USM

A 12:45 PM Tip From Simpson County, an Armed Man Threatening Self-Harm in the 4th Street Garage, and a 25-Minute Eagle Alert Cycle

MSarmed personemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the afternoon of April 5, 2024, The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg issued an Eagle Alert at 1:10 PM CDT directing the community to avoid the second floor of the 4th Street parking garage after USM Police were tipped at 12:45 PM CDT by the Simpson County Sheriff's Office that a felony fugitive — DaMarcus Tyrese Burkett, 25 — was on the Hattiesburg campus. USM officers located him armed and threatening self-harm. After multi-agency negotiations involving Hattiesburg PD, Forrest County and Lamar County Sheriff's Offices, and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the situation was resolved without incident.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Southern Mississippi
Public R1 · MS
~13,000 studentsEagle Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction152 chars
Eagle Alert: USM Police are responding to an incident at the 4th Street parking garage. Avoid the second floor of the parking garage. Updates to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Sent at 1:10 PM CDT — exactly 25 minutes after USM Police were tipped at 12:45 PM CDT by the Simpson County Sheriff's Office
The 4th Street parking garage at USM Hattiesburg was the subject of recent access changes, having seen prior incidents
Eagle Alert is the University of Southern Mississippi emergency notification system administered through Rave Mobile Safety, reaching SMS, email, voice, and digital signage
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction151 chars
Eagle Alert: The incident at the 4th Street parking garage has been resolved. The individual has been taken into custody. Normal operations may resume.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

USM published an official statement noting the negotiation was conducted by USM Police along with Hattiesburg PD, Forrest County Sheriff's Office, Lamar County Sheriff's Office, and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics — a notable five-agency response footprint
The suspect, DaMarcus Tyrese Burkett, was identified by the Simpson County Sheriff's Office as a 25-year-old previously arrested for enticement of a child and possession of child pornography
USM later [adjusted parking garage access](https://www.usm.edu/news/2024/release/parking-garage-safety.php) by requiring ID card swipes at certain entry points
Context

Background

The University of Southern Mississippi is a public R1 doctoral institution serving approximately 13,000 students in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. USM operates an Eagle Alert emergency notification system administered through Rave Mobile Safety. On the afternoon of April 5, 2024, USM Police were tipped at approximately 12:45 PM CDT by the Simpson County Sheriff's Office that a wanted felon — DaMarcus Tyrese Burkett, 25, of the Pinola community in Simpson County — was on the Hattiesburg campus. Officers located Burkett armed in the 4th Street parking garage, threatening self-harm. USM issued an Eagle Alert at 1:10 PM CDT directing community members to avoid the second floor of the garage. A multi-agency negotiation involving USM Police, Hattiesburg PD, Forrest County and Lamar County Sheriff's Offices, and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics resolved the situation without incident — Burkett was taken into custody and no shots were fired. USM subsequently announced parking garage access changes including new ID-card-required entry points. The case is significant because it documents how a multi-jurisdictional fugitive tip can translate into a campus armed-person alert in 25 minutes — and because USM responded to the incident with permanent infrastructure changes to garage access.
Analysis

Key Findings

The Eagle Alert was sent 25 minutes after USM Police received the Simpson County Sheriff's Office tip — illustrating standard alert-cadence for non-imminent armed-person reports
The suspect — DaMarcus Tyrese Burkett, 25, with prior child enticement charges — was an off-campus fugitive with no university affiliation
Negotiations involved five agencies (USM Police, Hattiesburg PD, two county sheriffs, MS Bureau of Narcotics) and resolved without shots fired
USM responded with permanent infrastructure changes including new ID-card-required parking garage entry points
The case illustrates how Mississippi's mid-sized R1 public universities navigate multi-agency coordination on off-campus suspect arrivals
Outcome
Burkett was taken into custody following negotiations without any shots fired. He had previously been arrested February 8 on one count of enticement of a child and two counts of possession of child pornography. No injuries occurred. USM subsequently announced parking garage access changes including new ID-card-required entry points.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    USM Statement Regarding Incident on Hattiesburg Campus - University of Southern Mississippi
    usm.edu
  2. News
    Wanted Simpson Co. suspect identified following incident at USM Hattiesburg campus parking garage - WDAM
    wdam.com
  3. News
    USM: Incident resolved at Hattiesburg campus parking garage - WDAM
    wdam.com
  4. News
    Person wanted on felony charges arrested on USM campus - 97.7 The Beat of The Capital
    thebeatofthecapital.com
  5. Student Paper
    University police responding to campus parking garage 'incident' - SM2 Media (Student Printz)
    sm2media.com
  6. Official
    Southern Miss Adjusts Access to Hattiesburg Campus Parking Garage - USM
    usm.edu
Tags
armed-personmississippiusmhattiesburgeagle-alertparking-garagefugitive-arrestself-harm-threatmulti-agency-responseinfrastructure-change
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion