Law enforcement officers comfort each other outside Memorial Hospital at Gulfport in Gulfport, Miss., on Thursday after Bay St. Louis Police Chief Mike De Nardo died.

A Mississippi police chief who had just been suspended shot and killed himself in the police department's parking lot, officials said, in what was described as “a bad day for law enforcement.”

Bay St. Louis Police Chief Mike DeNardo shot himself in the chest, Hancock County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Don Bass said. He said the Thursday shooting appeared intentional.

“Our initial finding is a self-inflicted gunshot,” he said.

Bass said DeNardo was standing outside a vehicle when he shot himself. He did not have information on who found him and reported the shooting.

“It's just a bad day — a bad day for law enforcement,” Bass said.

The mayor of the tourist-friendly beach community along the Mississippi Gulf Coast said DeNardo had just been suspended inside the police station when he went out to the parking lot and fatally shot himself. Specifics about the suspension weren't available.

Mayor Les Fillingame said DeNardo was under investigation by the Hancock County Sheriff's Office. He wouldn't give details but said he believed DeNardo would have been cleared of any wrongdoing.

“He was just a tremendous public servant, and he's going to be greatly missed,” Fillingame said.

Bass said city administrators told the sheriff's office that DeNardo had turned in some of his equipment earlier. He said he believes the police chief was still in uniform when the shooting happened.

Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam told WWL-TV that DeNardo was involved in an ongoing personnel issue.