Witnesses told the Sun Herald that De Nardo continued speaking after shooting himself and seemed alert as he was loaded into an ambulance. He was rushed to the Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, Miss., where he was pronounced dead at 3:15 p.m.

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Bay St. Louis Mayor Les Fillingame told the Associated Press that De Nardo was under investigation, but he declined to give any more details concerning either the investigation or the suspension. Fillingame also told the Associated Press he believed De Nardo would have been cleared of any wrongdoing.

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But he also told WLOX that the evidence against De Nardo seemed “credible.”

“We were made aware of what seemed to be credible evidence,” Fillingame told WLOX. “No charges were filed. Just the very initial phase of an investigation.”

The AP reported Friday that De Nardo was facing an investigation focused on the sale of weapons:

Hancock County Chief Deputy Don Bass told the Associated Press that Bay St. Louis police chief Mike DeNardo illegally sold one city-owned assault rifle, and that authorities were looking into allegations that other city-owned weapons were sold as well. … It wasn’t clear if the buyer knew the sale was illegal, and Bass said he could not discuss whether the weapon was evidence from a case or had been purchased for the department’s use.

According to the police department’s website, De Nardo spent 30 years in law enforcement before his death Thursday. He served as a patrol supervisor and SWAT commander for 18 years at the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana before taking a position as a patrolman at the Bay St. Louis Police Department in 2004. There, he quickly rose through the ranks to patrol supervisor, then deputy chief.

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Fillingame appointed him as police chief in 2010.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been as shocked in my life,” Fillingame told the Sun Herald. “He lost his mother this weekend. He had just gotten back from New York.”

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Fillingame called De Nardo a “tremendous chief” who was a mentor and a friend.

“I knew he was reeling from some real personal issues he was dealing with in New York surrounding the death of his mother,” he told the newspaper. “I know he was saddened by that.”

It is unclear why De Nardo took his own life, but Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam told WLOX he thinks the suspension played a role in De Nardo’s suicide.

“It’s difficult for a police officer when he is relieved of his duty, so maybe that played into it,” Adam said.

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The Bay St. Louis City Council held an emergency meeting Thursday night to discuss how the department would move forward.

“We’re worried about the security of Bay St. Louis after this tragic day today,” Council member Lonnie Falgout said, according to the Sun Herald.

It was decided the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office would temporarily assume control.

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“Due to recent events, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office will be assuming control of management and day-to-day operations of the Bay St. Louis Police Department on a temporary basis until a new chief is selected,” Council member Doug Seal said. “This is a temporary situation for a period of healing for our fellow officers and employees.”

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Many civil servants spent the day grieving.

Former city attorney Don Rafferty told WLOX that he was shock by what happened. “He’s my good friend,” he said.

“You could always talk to him — really approachable. He was a concerned citizen at heart,” former city council member Charles Johnson told the Sun Herald. “I didn’t see this coming.”

“I hate to hear this,” Biloxi Police Chief John Miller, who had worked with De Nardo, told the newspaper. “I certainly hate to hear it.”

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“The whole thing is just tragic,” Fillingame, the mayor, told WLOX. “Mike was a tremendous public servant, very well liked. I’m almost in a state of disbelief about the outcome.”

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This story has been updated.