Man arrested after fatal shooting in Wardell

WARDELL, Mo. -- A Wardell man is in custody in connection with a fatal shooting there.

About 6 p.m. Thursday, officers were called to 202 Back St. in Wardell about a shooting, said Pemiscot County Sheriff Tommy Greenwell.

At the scene, officers found Russell E. Gray Jr., 46, wounded in the back. Gray was taken to Hayti Hospital in Hayti, Missouri, and later died of his wounds, Greenwell said.

Paul Wayne Rudd, 51, of Wardell was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. He is being held without bond in the Pemiscot County Jail and will be arraigned in Pemiscot County Division II Circuit Court on Monday.

Officers from the Pemiscot County Sheriff's Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control and Wardell police investigated the shooting.

Pertinent address:

Wardell, Mo.