Authorities have confirmed that the body of a shooting suspect was recovered from a Friendship residence, where an armed man was thought to have barricaded himself Saturday.

Crockett County Sheriff Troy Klyce identified the body as 62-year-old Howard Kelly Williams. He appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Klyce said.

Williams allegedly shot 61-year-old Phylis Thurman prior to officers' arrival at a Mills Street residence around 10 a.m., according to Klyce. Thurman suffered gunshot wounds and was taken to a Jackson hospital before being airlifted to the Regional One Health Medical Center in Memphis Saturday morning.

Williams and Thurman lived in the Mills Street residence with Williams' mother. Thurman served as a caretaker at the residence. Williams suffered from mental disorders for a long period of time, according to Klyce.

"At this point I'm not sure what escalated [the situation]," Klyce said.

Officials attempted to make verbal contact with Williams multiple times after arriving at the scene around 10 a.m. but received no response. Authorities believe Williams fired at least one shot outside before returning inside the house.

The last phone call made from Williams' phone is timestamped shortly after the gun was fired.

"From that point, we just had to treat it like a barricaded suspect," Klyce said.

Officials deployed tear gas around 3:15 p.m. and received no response. They then sent in a robot to sweep the home.

"They were very meticulous about it to make sure nobody [else] would get hurt," Klyce said. "... That was the safest way to do it. It was a terrible situation."

Thurman's current condition is unknown, but she was not in stable condition en route to the hospital, according Lieutenant Roy Mosier of the Crockett County Sheriff's Department criminal investigations unit. Williams' mother was not physically harmed during the incident.

Investigators are still processing the scene, Klyce said.

Law enforcement personnel from the Madison County Sheriff's Department and SWAT team, Jackson bomb squad, Dyer County Sheriff's Department, Alamo Police Department and Friendship Police Department assisted in the response.

An Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter was on scene at the initial staging site in the parking lot of Friendship Elementary School. Armored vehicles, an ambulance and a mobile emergency command unit also accompanied law enforcement officers.

Reach Cassandra Stephenson at ckstephens@jacksonsun.com or at (731) 694-7261. Follow Cassandra on Twitter at @CStephenson731.