NATCHEZ — An Adams County sheriff’s deputy is recovering from a gunshot wound after his lunchtime meal choice led him right to a bank robbery and a crime scene that soon engulfed three local businesses, a major street and a residential area before a citizen helped bring it to an end.

Deputy Buddy Frank was shot in the leg Friday during a gunfire exchange with an armed bank robbery suspect on U.S. 61 South.

The suspect, Kendrick D. Smith, 23, 68-A LaGrange Road, was shot at least once in the chest during the exchange outside the United Mississippi Bank branch, Sheriff Chuck Mayfield said.

Frank and two other deputies happened to be eating lunch at 11:50 a.m. at Kentucky Fried Chicken next door to UMB, when a KFC employee noticed a masked man hiding behind the restaurant, KFC owner Jason McNeill said.

When the manager alerted the deputies, they went outside where Smith was standing.

At that point, Smith fired a .22-caliber gun at Frank, hitting him in the lower calf.

“(Smith) leveled the pistol and fired one time,” Mayfield said.

Mayfield said Frank fired back up to three times, with one bullet hitting Smith near the shoulder.

Mayfield said the injured suspect then fled on foot, passing the nearby parking lot of the Natchez Ford car dealership.

Natchez Ford mechanic tech Steven Wilson said he practically ran into the suspect, who shot at him.

“I was walking to my truck, headed to lunch,” Wilson said. “He came running around the corner, he saw my blue uniform, and his eyes got big. He shot at me, missed, and the bullet hit somewhere in the shop.”

Wilson said he grabbed two customers and yelled for everyone to leave the shop.

“I could have grabbed (the suspect),” Wilson said. “But my nerves aren’t that good. I’m just glad I’m alive.”

Natchez Ford owner Brad Yarbrough said the whole dealership knew about the incident within 30 seconds of the shots being fired.

“(Wilson) happened to be right where that guy was running from the policeman. I’m sure they surprised each other,” Yarbrough said.

Yarbrough said Wilson apparently heard the bullet hit metal, at which point Wilson knew he was not hit.

The suspect, bleeding, continued across the street to Plantation Manor Apartments.

William Wade, a service advisor at Natchez Ford, said he heard Wilson say the suspect shot at him, and he decided to do something about it.

“So I chased him to the back of the apartment building,” Wade said.

Wade and his family live at Plantation Manor Apartments.

“My grandkids are here,” Wade said. “They play in the hallway. That’s what I was most worried about.”

Wade said he was trying to keep an eye on the masked suspect, and when they met behind the apartments, Wade made him sit down.

“I’m no hero,” Wade said. “I didn’t tackle him. I just made him sit down until (law enforcement) got there. He did have a pistol in his hand.”

Deputy Frank and Smith were transported by ambulance to Natchez Regional Medical Center, where Frank was in stable condition and Smith underwent surgery Friday afternoon, Mayfield said.

“We believe the deputy will be alright,” Mayfield said. “At this point, we don’t think the injuries were life-threatening, but it is serious.”

Yarbrough said the suspect left a trail of money through the dealership parking lot during his flight on foot.

Mayfield said Smith was apparently holding the cash in his hands and dropped a chunk of it when he was shot near KFC, before leaving a money trail near Natchez Ford.

“There were over 200 bills of different denominations,” Yarbrough said.

Many of the bills were 100-dollar bills, Yarbrough said.

Mayfield said he got to the scene when Wade was instructing Smith to remain still near the back of St. Catherine’s Creek, behind the apartment complex.

Mayfield said his office and the Natchez Police Department are investigating to determine if more people are involved in the incident, perhaps to provide a getaway ride.

UMB president Sammy Porter said five employees and two customers were inside the bank when the suspect entered the branch.

While at the bank, Smith reportedly fired up to three shots, threatened at least one customer with a gun and stole the customer’s wallet.

The suspect dropped the wallet in the KFC parking lot when Frank shot him. Police recovered the wallet, Mayfield said.

Porter said a bank employee activated the alarm when the employee saw the suspect running toward the bank wearing a mask covering his face up to his eyes and a hat — before the robbery occurred.

Mayfield said the suspect might have been wearing a brown bandana as a mask.

Porter said a UMB branch has not been robbed in approximately 10 years, when the Morgantown branch was robbed.

Mayfield said deputies recovered the entire undisclosed amount of money that was stolen, including the trail of money left in the KFC and Natchez Ford parking lots.

Porter said the employees and patrons are mentally shaken up, but physically unharmed.

“The main thing is that our employees acted appropriately and are safe,” Porter said.

Porter said he appreciated the responsiveness of the sheriff’s office and Natchez Police Department, who also responded to the incident.

“That was just a stroke of luck,” Porter said of the deputies eating next door.

While the branch is located in the city limits, the sheriff’s deputies responded as soon as they heard about the hiding suspect, Mayfield said.

NPD Lt. Craig Godbold said Smith has a history of arrests at NPD, the most recent being last month.

Smith was arrested May 18 for possession of marijuana, speeding and driving under suspension, Godbold said.

Mayfield said Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene with their canine unit. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office canine unit also responded to help locate the gun.

Mayfield said deputies found the suspect’s “Saturday night special” handgun after following a trail of blood.

Mayfield said Smith will be charged with armed bank robbery, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and a number of other aggravated assault charges. The exact number of aggravated assault charges will depend on an investigation of how many attempts the suspect took to shoot others on the scene, including Wilson.

Porter said the UMB branch involved in the incident at 20 Seargent S. Prentiss Drive will be closed today and reopen Monday.

McNeill said KFC, which was closed temporarily following the incident for police investigations, opened Friday afternoon at approximately 3 p.m.

Yarbrough said his employees got back to work Friday afternoon.

“Everybody is kind of just getting over from the shock of it all,” Yarbrough said.

“I really just couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he said. “After all, it’s Natchez.”