Deputy Sheriff Oneal Moore

Oneal Moore

Deputy Sheriff Oneal Moore was shot and killed when he and his partner were ambushed while on patrol.

A pickup truck pulled up alongside their patrol car, and an occupant in the truck's bed opened fire, killing Deputy Moore and wounding his partner. Deputy Moore was Washington Parish's first black deputy, and it is believed that the deputies were attacked because of their race. There was an ongoing race war in the region led by the Ku Klux Klan.

Two suspects were arrested in Mississippi following the murder, but no charges were filed by the prosecuting attorney due to a lack of evidence. However, the investigation was reopened by the FBI in 1990, again in 2001, and was re-opened in 2009 by their Civil Rights-era Cold Case Initiative. The prime suspect died in 2003.

Deputy Moore was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office for one year. He was survived by his wife and four young daughters.