A man was killed early Thursday after opening fire on Hall County sheriff’s deputies, officials said.
About 6:40 a.m., deputies were called to the 2300 block of Ridgeway Drive after someone reported a suspicious man armed with a gun in a mobile home park, sheriff’s spokesman Derreck Booth said in a statement.
When deputies made contact with the man, identified as Joseph Villanueva, 29, from California, he ran from them and fired “multiple gunshots at them in the process,” Booth said.
Three deputies returned fire, hitting Villanueva, who died on the scene. The GBI will conduct an autopsy Friday.
None of the deputies — Kevin Lyle, Nathan Manley and Michael Atkins — were injured during the incident, Booth said. They were placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the GBI investigation.
Thursday’s incident comes two days after another deputy-involved shooting. An “erratic” 26-year-old man was shot and killed by a Walton County sheriff’s deputy and a family member was also hit during a reported family disturbance, according to the GBI.
MORE: 'Erratic' man killed by deputy in Walton County; family member also shot
Chavius Hollis raised his gun during the encounter and shot his family member in the leg before the deputy, who has not been named, fatally shot him, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said.
The family member is now recovering. No deputies were injured in that incident.
OVER THE LINE: Police shootings in Georgia
INTERACTIVE MAP: Georgia's officer-involved shootings under GBI investigation
The incident in Hall County is the 44th officer-involved shooting the GBI has investigated this year. There were 97 such shootings in Georgia in 2017.
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