Three Georgia law enforcement officers were injured during a wild car chase and shootout with two men from Alabama in the early hours of Monday morning, officials said.
The officers, from three separate west Georgia departments, were each shot and one crashed into a utility pole after taking gunfire in his patrol car during the chase, Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley told reporters during a news conference. One officer was treated and released Monday afternoon, while the two others remained in the hospital as of Monday evening.
According to the GBI, which was requested to handle its 20th officer-involved shooting investigation of 2021, the suspects crashed their car but still continued their gunbattle with the officers.
One of the suspects was eventually shot and died at the scene. The other was arrested on multiple assault and battery charges, the GBI said.
The 20 shootings involving officers in Georgia this year lag well behind the pace of 2020. By this time last year, there had been 29 officer-involved shootings. The GBI finished the year with a total of 96.
“It could have been a lot worse, and we’re thankful,” said the sheriff, who called the incident “horrific.” “We pray for the speedy recovery of those officers.”
The three officers are Carroll County Deputy Jay Repetto, Carrollton police Sgt. Rob Holloway and Villa Rica police Officer Chase Gordy.
Gordy was shot twice and underwent surgery Monday morning at Grady Memorial Hospital. His police chief, Michael Mansour, did not provide further updates on his condition.
During the chase, Holloway was hit by gunfire and injured but continued his pursuit, the GBI said. He later crashed into a utility pole. He was flown to Grady, according to Carrollton police Chief Joel Richards.
Repetto was shot in the arm and flown to Atlanta Medical Center, Langley said. He was released later in the day.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
The man killed was identified as Pier Alexander Shelton, 28, of Birmingham, Alabama. Aaron Jajuan Shelton, 22, also of Birmingham, who was identified by the GBI as Pier’s cousin, was arrested and charged with five counts of aggravated assault and three counts of aggravated battery. He was being held at the Carroll County Jail without bond.
The GBI did not say which officer fired the shot that killed Pier Shelton or who was driving the car.
Credit: Carroll County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Carroll County Sheriff's Office
The chase kicked off about 3:30 a.m. when a state trooper clocked a 2015 Nissan Sentra going 111 mph on I-20 in the Bremen area, according to the Georgia State Patrol. The trooper pulled the car over, but it took off again, GSP Capt. Brandon Dawson said.
At one point, the trooper successfully disabled the Sentra using a PIT maneuver, but Dawson said the driver was able to get control of the vehicle again and speed away.
“His passenger used a rifle and shot at the trooper’s patrol car, actually striking him and disabling his patrol car,” said Dawson, adding that the trooper was not injured.
Local authorities then joined the chase as it crossed into Carroll County and traveled through Carrollton and Villa Rica. Multiple rounds were fired from the Sentra, according to the sheriff, striking the vehicles of Repetto, Holloway and Gordy.
The pursuit continued until the Nissan crashed near an elementary school in Villa Rica, according to the GBI. Both men ran from the vehicle, leading to a search by the pursuing officers.
In two separate instances of gunfire, first at 5 a.m. and then at 5:30 a.m., the men shot at the officers on the scene, the GBI said. It was during those exchanges that Gordy and Repetto were hit and injured, as well as Pier Shelton, who was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Diana Baines, who lives in the neighborhood where the final shootout took place, said the sound of gunfire woke her up.
“I got up and there were gunshots,” she told Channel 2 Action News at the scene. “And that’s unusual for five o’clock in the morning.”
She said she knew something was wrong when she heard two different types of gunfire back and forth.
“I pray for the officers that were involved,” Baines said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don’t involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI’s tally.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
