Man with machete shot by police in Jackson County, GBI says

A Commerce police officer shot a man Monday evening after he refused to drop a “machete-type weapon,” the GBI said.

Brendan Nicholson-Sanders, 21, was taken to a hospital in Gainesville after receiving first aid at the scene, according to the GBI. Officials did not know his health condition Monday night. No one else was injured during the confrontation.

Commerce police responded around 5:15 p.m. to a domestic call at a home in the 5700 block of Mt. Olive Road on the northern edge of Commerce, the GBI said. Though few details were provided, the state agency said officers encountered a man, later identified as Nicholson-Sanders, swinging a long, bladed weapon. The officers told the 21-year-old to drop his weapon, but when he refused, they opened fire and hit him, officials said.

Photos from the scene show a Commerce police cruiser parked on a heavily wooded lot near a house and surrounded by evidence markers. The area is less than 2 miles south of I-85 and the popular Tanger Outlets shopping center.

The GBI is investigating at the request of the Commerce Police Department. Once complete, the GBI’s findings will be turned over to the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office for review.