The GBI on Tuesday opened separate investigations into two incidents in Middle Georgia during which law enforcement officers shot at allegedly armed suspects, one of whom remains at large, the agency said Wednesday.
In the first case, the GBI said a Georgia State Patrol trooper was trying to stop a driver for a traffic violation around 11 a.m. on Watson Boulevard in Warner Robins. The driver failed to stop, and a pursuit ensued. During the chase, the driver, later identified as 33-year-old Christopher Rodriguez of Macon, fired multiple shots at the trooper, according to the GBI.
Rodriguez then came to a stop behind a business and got out of the vehicle with a firearm, officials said. He ran to a nearby apartment complex, where he allegedly carjacked a man at gunpoint and sped away. He made it to neighboring Bibb County, where he wrecked on U.S. 41 near Ga. 247, the GBI said.
Rodriguez was taken into custody without further incident and is being held at the Houston County jail.
The GBI’s gang task force and the FBI are assisting with the investigation, though the GBI did not disclose the reason for their involvement.
About 2½ hours later, the GBI was called to Toomsboro, about an hour away, to investigate after a man allegedly pointed a weapon at Wilkinson County sheriff’s deputies who were trying to arrest him.
The man, identified as 55-year-old Christopher Thomas Ford, had been in a shed when deputies showed up at his house to arrest him at about 1:30 p.m. He had active warrants for terroristic threats, the GBI said.
When Ford came out of the shed, he had a shotgun and pointed it at deputies, according to the GBI. One of them fired at Ford, missing him. He then ran into the woods and remains at large as of Wednesday afternoon.
No law enforcement officers were injured in either incident.
Tuesday’s cases marked the 110th and 111th officer-involved shootings the GBI has been asked to investigate this year, up from a total of 100 from last year.
