A man was shot and killed by a Forsyth County sheriff’s deputy Thursday after threatening a woman with a gun, officials said.
Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman said his deputies were sent to a home on Dahlonega Highway to check into a report of unknown trouble. When they arrived about 8:30 p.m., they heard gunshots, he told reporters from the scene Thursday night.
“Unfortunately, as they approached the residence, they observed an individual, a male, armed with a handgun,” Freeman said. “That individual was threatening a female. One deputy sheriff discharged his duty weapon as that male was threatening the female with the firearm.”
The GBI later identified the man as Yonatan Aguilera, 40, of Cumming. Officials said Aguilera fired at least one round into the ground in the direction of the woman before he was shot multiple times by the deputy.
“Deputies rendered aid to Aguilera, but he died at the scene,” GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in a news release. “The woman did not sustain any injuries.”
Freeman said his agency has also notified the Forsyth County district attorney of the shooting.
“Unfortunately that individual made that decision and forced our deputy to make that decision that they made,” he said.
No deputies were injured in the shooting.
It marked the 48th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year, 27 of which have resulted in death. Two officers have been killed, Lt. Justin Bedwell of the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office and Joe Burson of the Holly Springs Police Department.
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.
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