A 53-year-old Cherokee County man was shot to death by police after allegedly robbing a gas station and then leading officers on a chase into Cobb County, investigators said Monday.
The chase ended on I-75 south, where Jerome George “Jerry” Cundy allegedly pointed a firearm at officers, according to police. Officers shot and killed Cundy, of Woodstock, Sunday morning.
The incident forced investigators to shut down the interstate for more than five hours, leaving only the emergency lane open for travelers.
Cundy allegedly robbed a Marathon station on Bells Ferry Road at Victoria Road in Woodstock, according to a statement from Lt. Jay Baker with the Cherokee Sheriff’s office. The suspect in the armed robbery, believed to be Cundy, and his vehicle matched the description in another armed robbery in Cobb County earlier in the morning.
Two Woodstock police officers chased the suspect on I-575 south into Cobb County, Baker said. Several officers attempted to stop the suspect, who refused to stop. Police followed the vehicle onto I-75 South and stopped the car near exit 263.
After the suspect pointed a firearm at the officers, officers shot and killed the suspect, the statement said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the police-involved shooting, and took photographs at the scene, said John Bankhead, a GBI spokesman.
Earlier in the day, Bankhead said I-75 would reopen “as soon as practical” after the investigation. I-75 South at North Marietta Parkway reopened around 4:45 p.m. From 11 a.m. until late Sunday afternoon, only the highway’s left shoulder was open.
Police asked motorists around 11 a.m. Sunday to avoid the area until further notice. Police were dispatched to the Marathon robbery at 9:39 a.m. and Woodstock police followed the suspect into Cobb County around 10:15 a.m.
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