Police say Cedric Garrett killed his wife, Valtricia Garrett, before dying by suicide as officers tried to resolve the situation peacefully.
VICKSBURG, MS — Vicksburg police are investigating the deaths of a husband and wife after authorities said the man fatally shot his wife before dying by suicide during a confrontation with officers Friday morning.
Police identified the couple as Cedric Garrett, 40, and his wife, Valtricia Garrett, 53. Officers were called about 9 a.m. Nov. 13 to an area behind the Vicksburg Convalescent Home after receiving a request to check on people inside a vehicle, according to Police Chief Larry Burns. Police said Garrett was reported to have a firearm, prompting officers to secure the area and begin efforts to communicate with him.
Burns said officers established a perimeter near the vehicle and tried to bring the situation to a peaceful end. Police spoke with Garrett for roughly 20 minutes and believed at one point that he might surrender, the chief said. Instead, Garrett died by suicide while officers were still at the scene. Afterward, officers found Valtricia Garrett dead inside the vehicle. Investigators believe her husband killed her before police arrived.
The deaths prompted a criminal investigation as detectives worked to determine what happened before officers were called. Police had not announced a motive as of Saturday. Burns described the incident as a tragedy that had affected the Vicksburg community and said the department’s criminal investigations unit remained involved in the case.
Burns also said police records showed a previous history of domestic violence involving the couple. According to the chief, Cedric Garrett was arrested in 2017 and 2018 in domestic violence cases. Burns said another domestic violence report involving the couple was filed in 2026, only months before the deaths. Police had not released additional details about those incidents or said what role, if any, they played in Friday’s events.
Valtricia Garrett’s brother, Andre Moore, told WLBT that his family learned something was wrong after he received a call about a Facebook Live video involving Cedric Garrett. Moore said he was told Garrett was online claiming that he had killed his wife. Police have not publicly detailed the full contents of the video, and investigators have not announced whether it will be used as evidence in determining the sequence of events.
Moore said his sister had been trying to move forward with her life and that, to his understanding, the couple had separated. He remembered her as a mother and grandmother who cared about others in her community. The family was already grieving another recent loss, Moore said, after burying the siblings’ mother about a month earlier.
The police response temporarily drew attention to the area around Cherry and Shannon streets. During the incident, Burns urged residents to remain away from the area while officers worked to secure the scene. Authorities later said the immediate threat had ended after Garrett’s death, allowing investigators to begin processing the scene and examining the circumstances surrounding both deaths.
Police have not released additional findings about what led to the shooting or a more detailed timeline of events preceding the welfare check. The Vicksburg Police Department’s criminal investigations unit continues to investigate the deaths as authorities work to establish the full sequence of events.
Author note: Last updated November 14, 2026.