Police develop person of interest in Auburn man’s shooting death

A person of interest was developed in connection with the Saturday night Opelika shooting on Raintree Street that killed 22-year-old Jacob Austin Smith, authorities announced this morning in a press release.

Opelika Police have yet to release that individual’s name.

“At this time, investigators are following up on several solid leads,” Opelika Police Capt. Shane Healey wrote. “Further developments will be reported as they occur.”

Officers said they were called to the 500 block of Raintree Street around 9 p.m. Saturday after shots were fired in the area.

Police arrived on the scene and found Smith lying in the yard of a residence with multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics with the Opelika Fire Department provided medical care to the Auburn man before transporting him to East Alabama Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 10:15 p.m., said Lee County Coroner Bill Harris.

Smith’s body was transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences medical examiner's office for a postmortem examination, Harris stated.

The case remains under investigation by Opelika Police, Lee County Coroner's Office and Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Opelika Police Department Investigative Services Division at (334)705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at (334)745-8665.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Police develop person of interest in Auburn man’s shooting death."