A Rockdale County deputy shot a teenager who reached for a gun Thursday morning following a chase that ended near I-20 in DeKalb County, according to officials.
Tevin Bass, 19, of Conyers, had been wanted since he fled from a traffic stop Tuesday and forced a deputy “to drive into a ditch to avoid a head-on collision,” the Rockdale sheriff’s office said. On Thursday, Bass was involved in another pursuit with the sheriff’s office after a warrant was obtained for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, the GBI said in a statement Friday.
The second chase started in Rockdale around 9:30 a.m. and continued on I-20 westbound into DeKalb. Bass exited the interstate at Wesley Chapel Road before getting back on the eastbound side, where his vehicle became disabled and stopped on the right shoulder, the GBI said. Bass struck two vehicles during the chase, which stretched across 10 miles and ended when the right tires of the vehicle separated from each rim, according to the sheriff’s office.
He then jumped out of his vehicle, crossed over the median and ran into the woodline near the westbound side of the interstate, the GBI said.
“Bass was followed by deputies, who gave Bass commands in their attempt to take him into custody,” the GBI said. “Bass reached for a gun and a deputy shot (him).”
The teenager was treated at a hospital and taken to the Rockdale County Jail, the sheriff’s office said. No deputies were injured and a gun was recovered at the scene.
Credit: Georgia Department of Transportation
Credit: Georgia Department of Transportation
The shooting shut down all three westbound lanes and slowed traffic on the eastbound side. The westbound lanes reopened at 11:45 a.m.
On Tuesday, Bass was stopped by deputies in the area of Salem Road for violating the Hands-Free Georgia Act, authorities said. He fled from deputies twice during that chase, provided false information, and traveled the wrong way on a road, authorities said. While driving in the wrong lane, he nearly struck a deputy and passed a school bus with students on board in a no-passing zone, according to the sheriff’s office.
Thursday’s incident was the 19th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year, and the third this week.
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