LAWRENCE COUNTY, Miss. – A sheriff’s deputy and his wife in Mississippi are among the dead after a tornado struck on Easter Sunday, part of a widespread deadly storm system leaving devastation across the South.
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook that Deputy Robert Ainsworth and his wife, Paula, were killed in their home when the deadly storms moved across the state, FOX News reported.
“Robert left this world a hero, as he shielded Mrs. Paula during the tornado,” the sheriff’s office said. “He was a very valuable employee and will be greatly missed.”
According to officials, Robert was a United States Marine Corps veteran and a long time employee of the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office.
“Please remember to pray for LCSO along with their families during this tragedy,” the department said.
Paula was a former Justice Court Deputy Clerk at the Lawrence County Justice Court and currently a Justice Court Deputy Clerk for the Walthall County Justice Court.
“Rest In Peace, Brother. We have the watch from here,” the sheriff’s office said. “Job well done, Sir.”
Mississippi’s death toll rose to 11 early Monday, the state’s emergency management agency tweeted, with deaths reported in several counties after the storms struck.
“This is not how anyone wants to celebrate Easter,” said Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, who declared a state of emergency Sunday night. “As we reflect on the death and resurrection on this Easter Sunday, we have faith that we will all rise together.”
The storm system that created the damage in Mississippi is blamed for an outbreak of tornadoes across the South that’s left at least 20 dead.
In Georgia, a reported tornado lifted a house and dropped it in the middle of a county road as the storms struck early Monday.
- PHOENIX OFFICER CREDITS PROTECTIVE PLATE WITH SAVING HER LIFE IN SAME SHOOTING THAT KILLED COMMANDER
“We’ve had over 50 reports of tornadoes over parts of the South and the Gulf Coast,” Fox News Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean said. “The Storm Prediction Center said this is the area that’s going to potentially see the damage, including tornadoes, long-lasting, catastrophic tornadoes and now we are getting reports of many deaths.”
Dean said Monday, as a cold front sweeps across the eastern U.S., that conditions will improve by Monday night, but the threat of severe weather remains for parts of Georgia, Florida, and up toward the Carolinas into Virginia.
The storm system is also bringing the threat of fierce winds to the Northeast, the epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus outbreak, where the medical response has included tents that forecasters warn “could be damaged” by the high winds.
