Officer, 26, killed in Henry County shooting; suspect identified

Locust Grove police Officer Chase Maddox was shot and killed Friday while providing backup to a call. He was 26 and was expecting his second child with his wife in a matter of days.

Locust Grove police Officer Chase Maddox was shot and killed Friday while providing backup to a call. He was 26 and was expecting his second child with his wife in a matter of days.

Locust Grove police officer Chase Maddox, 26, was shot and killed and Henry County sheriff’s deputies Michael D. Corley and Ralph Sidwell “Sid” Callaway were wounded while serving an arrest warrant to Tierre Guthrie on Friday at a home on St. Francis Court, authorities said.

Guthrie was shot and killed.

The arrest warrant was for failure to appear on a traffic violation, the GBI confirmed.

The GBI is investigating the shooting, which occurred at the Hawthorne at Linden Park subdivision in Locust Grove.

After talking with Guthrie for about 10 minutes, deputies realized they would be making an arrest and would have difficulty placing him in custody, Henry County Sheriff Keith McBrayer said.

He did not specify what Guthrie did that made deputies decide to arrest him instead of just serving the warrant.

“They notified radio and a Locust Grove city police officer came to be a backup for them,” he said. “(Maddox) was there three minutes after that.”

As they tried to make an arrest, there was an altercation inside the home, McBrayer said. That’s when the officers and Guthrie were shot. He did not specify who shot whom and how many shots were fired.

Stay with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for live updates:

8:18 p.m.: The GBI identified the suspect as 39-year-old Tierre Guthrie.

6:13 p.m.: The suspect was renting the home from an Alabama couple, Channel 2 Action News reported. The couple, who have a military background, have rented out the home to various people over the past few years.

6:11 p.m.: Corley's brother, Wade, said in his brother's 26-year career this was his first time being shot. Michael Corley is six years away from retirement.

4:59 p.m.: The GBI released photos of Locust Grove police Officer Chase Maddox and Henry County sheriff's deputies Michael D. Corley and Ralph Sidwell "Sid" Callaway.

4:17 p.m.: One of the Henry County deputies shot while serving a warrant Friday morning has been released from the hospital, according to Channel 2. He was wearing his bulletproof vest, which blocked the bullet. A second deputy remains in the hospital after he was shot in the stomach. He was also wearing a vest.

4:05 p.m.: A slain Locust Grove police officer was identified as 26-year-old Chase Maddox. He had been working for the department since he was 22. Maddox is the only officer the department hired out of school and was described by Locust Grove Mayor Robert Price as a "smart young man." His wife is expecting their second child.

Locust Grove Mayor Robert Price (left) reacts to one of his officers being killed as he talks to Henry Chief Deputy David Foster (center) and Henry County Sheriff Keith McBrayer after a news conference Friday. (Credit: Phil Skinner)

Credit: PHIL SKINNER

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Credit: PHIL SKINNER

3:34 p.m.: The Locust Grove police officer killed today was a five-year veteran of the department. One of the deputies had more than 20 years of experience.

2:23 p.m.: Snellville police Chief Roy Whitehead said one of the deputies shot in Henry County today is the father of one of his officers.

Henry County sheriff’s Deputy Michael Corley was shot Friday while serving a warrant in Locust Grove, authorities said. (Credit: Henry County Sheriff’s Office)

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2:17 p.m.: Wade Corley said his brother, Henry County sheriff's Deputy Michael Corley, was shot in the left side of his chest and the shot penetrated his bulletproof vest.

“They were serving a warrant and it just went south,” Wade Corley said.

Wade Corley said he got a call saying his brother had been shot.

“So I’m going crazy and then they pass the phone to my brother,” he said. “At the time, Michael didn’t know if he was going to make it and he asked me to pray for him.”

Michael Corley, 49, also asked to see his sons.

“Get those boys to me as fast as you can,” he recalled his brother saying.

2:07 p.m.: The man is dead, too. GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said authorities are trying to notify his relatives before releasing his name.

2:07 p.m.: One of the Henry County sheriff's deputies has serious injuries and is headed to surgery. The other is fair. Both are at Atlanta Medical Center.

2:06 p.m.: The Locust Grove police officer died a short time later at a hospital, the Henry County sheriff said during a press conference. The officer's name has not been released.

2:06 p.m.: Henry County Sheriff Keith McBrayer said two deputies went to a home on St. Francis Court in Locust Grove with an arrest warrant for an unidentified man about 10:53 a.m. The arrest warrant was for failure to appear on a traffic violation, the sheriff said.

GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles (left) and Henry County Sheriff Keith McBrayer brief the media on a deadly officer-involved shooting in Locust Grove. (Credit: Phil Skinner)

Credit: PHIL SKINNER

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Credit: PHIL SKINNER

2 p.m.: A press briefing is about to begin.

1:55 p.m.: One of the deputies shot has been identified as Michael Corley by his brother.

Wade Corley, pastor of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church of Griffin, spoke with reporters outside of Atlanta Medical Center and said a bullet went through his brother’s vest and “caught him in the lungs.”

He’s getting an MRI, the man told Channel 2.

Wade Corley said he was calling his brother when another officer answered the call to tell him his brother was OK. Michael Corley is the father of two sons, ages 14 and 11. They are both at the hospital, the injured man's brother said.

“Please just pray,” he said to reporters. “Lift these families up.”

1:41 p.m.: Several deputies are leaving the scene where someone shot three officers. Police say the shooter is dead and they aren't looking for any one else. Police still have the house where shooting happened cordoned off, according to Channel 2.

1:31 p.m.: More officers are arriving at Atlanta Medical Center. It appears family members just got a police escort to the hospital. Channel 2's Craig Lucie reports family members ran inside the hospital.

1:28 p.m.: Hawthorne at Linden Park subdivision is still blocked off as police investigate a shooting that sent three officers to the hospital.

1:17 p.m.: Officers were serving a warrant at the time of the shooting, according to Channel 2. One of the injured officers killed the shooter, the news station reported.

1:12 p.m.: The status of the wounded officers is unknown.

1:11 p.m.: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Henry Co Sheriff's deputies and Locust Grove officer who were shot this morning in Henry County," the Gwinnett County Police Department said in a tweet. "We hope they survive their injuries and make a full recovery."

1:04 p.m.: Three ambulances have arrived at Atlanta Medical Center with police escorts. Dozens of officers are there.

1:02 p.m.: There will be a 2 p.m. news conference at Henry County Fire Department Station No. 2.

12:55 p.m.: Three children were brought out of a house in the area and taken to a neighboring residence, Channel 2 reported.

12:51 p.m.: Summit Racing Equipment store, which was evacuated because authorities suspected it was part of the shooting scene, has been given the all-clear, Channel 2 reported. Workers are returning to the building.

12:49 p.m.: A scene at Summit Racing Equipment on King Mill Road in McDonough is not connected to the officer-involved shooting, according to Channel 2.

12:49 p.m.: At least one of the officers was taken to Atlanta Medical Center. Another was taken to Piedmont Henry Hospital.

12:32 p.m.: Multiple agencies, including the Henry County Sheriff's Office, the GBI and the Locust Grove and Henry County police departments, are investigating. An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also on the scene in the 1200 block of St. Francis Court in Locust Grove.

12:27 p.m.: Locust Grove Elementary School is on lockdown.

12:23 p.m.: Two Henry County deputies and one Locust Grove officer have been shot, the sheriff's office told Channel 2. Two have been flown to a local hospital. One was taken by ambulance. The man who shot them is dead, officials said.

12:17 p.m.: Henry County police Capt. Mike Ireland confirmed three officers were shot.

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