A man was arrested early Friday morning after shooting at a deputy in a vehicle outside the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.
Amar Touré, 45, was booked into the jail, which is directly behind the sheriff’s office, and is facing charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer, possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony and theft by receiving stolen property. No one was injured during Friday’s incident, the GBI stated.
The Calhoun man entered the jail lobby located off U.S. 41 around 4 a.m. and asked a jailer if the sheriff’s office was open. The officer told Touré that the office was closed, so he returned to the parking lot.
While in the parking lot, Touré took out a black handgun from his jacket and opened fire on a deputy sitting in a parked patrol vehicle near the south end of the sheriff’s office building, the GBI said.
To escape the gunfire, the deputy quickly maneuvered his patrol vehicle behind other parked vehicles while Touré continued to fire, authorities said. As the suspect got closer, the deputy was forced to move again to escape the bullets.
Soon after, another deputy, who heard the gunfire and radio calls for help, exited the jail’s sallyport with a rifle in hand, the state agency said. The deputy fired once at Touré, who raised his hands and surrendered, according to the GBI.
Surveillance footage appeared to show Touré walking around the parking lot, authorities said. The GBI said it will conduct an independent investigation into the incident before handing over the case to the Gordon District Attorney’s Office for review.
According to authorities, Touré has a lengthy record that includes a January 2020 arrest for aggravated assault and cruelty to children, and prior arrests in 2019 and 2018. He remains in the county jail, officials said.
It was the 70th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate in 2023. At the same time last year, there had been 89 such shootings.
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