Georgia leaders offer support after 2 Tifton police officers shot
Georgia leaders are lending their support and prayers for two Tifton police officers, who were hospitalized after being shot Friday.
The officers were being assisted by the GBI as they tried to serve a search warrant just before 11 a.m. at Davy Royal’s home in the 800 block of Lee Avenue, the state agency said in a statement.
After knocking on the door and announcing their presence, the GBI said Royal shot at the officers, who returned fire. The officers, described by the GBI as investigators with the department, were struck and taken to nearby hospitals.
The officers were still receiving medical treatment as of Sunday, officials said. Family members, through separate GoFundMe pages, identified them as Michael Gaskins and Jerry Fulford, who police said celebrated his second anniversary with the department on Thursday.
Gaskins first began with Tifton in 2007 and has worked with them off and on, along with other police departments in Moultrie, Ashburn and Sycamore, according to Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council records. Fulford joined the department on Dec. 1, 2023, the records showed.
Both officers now face a “long road to recovery,” according to Gaskins’ relative Leslie Gaskins, who organized the fundraising pages to help pay for medical costs. They had raised more than $7,500 as of early Sunday afternoon.
U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., whose district includes Tifton, said Friday that the officers were said to be stable.
“Please join me in praying for the recovery of our officers and for the protection of those during this developing situation,” Scott said in a statement.
“Please join Marty, the girls, and me in prayer for the two Tifton officers wounded this morning in the line of duty,” added Gov. Brian Kemp in a statement. “These brave officers, their families, and the entire Tifton Police Department will remain in our thoughts and prayers as they face the road ahead.”
Following Friday’s shooting, Royal barricaded himself inside the home and ultimately surrendered hours later without incident, the GBI said.
The 35-year-old was arrested and booked into the Coffee County Jail on two counts of criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault on a peace officer and five counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the GBI and Coffee sheriff’s office.
On Sunday, police declined to comment further about the injured officers and what prompted the search warrant at Royal’s home.
“Our thoughts and prayers for the two Tifton PD officers, and their families, who were shot this morning while on a call,” the Tift County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “A huge thank you to all the agencies that showed up to help in any way possible to get the suspect shooter arrested and incarcerated without further injury.”
The GBI said it will conduct an independent investigation into the gunfire. Afterward, the case file will be given to the Tift County District Attorney’s Office for review.
