Law enforcement in Middle Georgia shot and killed a man who threatened them at his home while armed with a gun, state officials said Monday.
The GBI is investigating the shooting, which happened Sunday at the conclusion of a lengthy standoff involving deputies and a Georgia State Patrol SWAT team in rural Montgomery County.
At about 6 p.m., the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was called to the home of 45-year-old Donald Bonner Jr. after someone reported he was firing random shots in his yard in Ailey, about 80 miles southeast of Macon, the GBI stated in a news release.
According to officials, Bonner threatened to kill law enforcement and went back inside his house after failed attempts to negotiate. The sheriff’s office then established a perimeter as they waited on the SWAT team to safely serve Bonner with arrest warrants.
Once they arrived, the GSP’s helicopter team spotted a person behind the house with a gun, according to the GBI. Bonner was shot once, before negotiations with the SWAT officers began, and later died at a hospital in Vidalia.
The GBI didn’t say which law enforcement agency’s members shot Bonner. No officers were injured during the incident.
Bonner had outstanding warrants for aggravated assault on law enforcement officers in March, when he allegedly fired shots in the presence of Montgomery County deputies, the GBI stated. But authorities decided to wait until he left his house, and arrest warrants were not served at that time.
Once the GBI completes its investigation into Sunday’s shooting, the case will be handed over to the Oconee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.
At the time, it was the 73rd officer-involved shooting the GBI had been requested to investigate this year. The 74th occurred Tuesday when Lawrenceville police shot and killed a man trying to steal a police cruiser, according to the state agency. There had been 92 such shootings by this time last year.
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