Man threatening law enforcement on video now in a mental facility

A man who has posted threats against law enforcement in social media videos is in a mental facility, according to officials.

Joseph Phillip Sharber, 28, of Jackson, can be seen on social media video displaying weapons and making threats to kill law enforcement officers. He uses threatening and inflammatory language while pointing the gun at the camera, and appears to grow more agitated during the tirade. 

At the end, he says, "I'll kill a cop, yeah I would, in a redneck town. They're going down." Most of the rest of the video is too profane to quote.

Saturday morning, a release from Rankin County Undersheriff Raymond Duke said that Sharber's father had contacted Hinds County Sheriff Victor Mason, who helped him put Sharber in a mental facility "for possible mental health treatment."

Sharber has previous arrests, including possession of stolen goods, resisting arrest, fleeing law enforcement and possession of stolen firearms. 

"Our hope is Joseph Sharber Jr. is able to receive the medical attention he desperately needs," Duke said in the statement. "We never take threats of this nature lightly and want to thank Sheriff Mason for playing a role in, what we hope, is an end to this story."

Contact Therese Apel at 601-961-7236 or tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.