The GBI was asked to investigate after Bibb County authorities said a deputy exchanged gunfire with a driver during a vehicle pursuit Thursday night.
The deputy returned fire when the driver, identified as 35-year-old Carlton Lewis Alexander, climbed out of his vehicle and began shooting into the deputy’s patrol car, according to the GBI. Alexander was shot in the leg, the agency said, but only the deputy’s driver’s-side door was hit by the gunfire.
The pursuit kicked off about 11 p.m. when the deputy responded to the Pleasant Hill area to investigate a report of gunfire and tried to stop a speeding vehicle near the intersection of Ward and Amos streets.
“The deputy initiated his emergency lights and attempted a traffic stop but the driver failed to stop,” GBI Agent Rhonda Daniel said in a news release. “A pursuit ensued and the vehicle drove up on a curb and ultimately came to a stop in the middle of Riverside Drive.”
Shots were exchanged, Daniel said. Following the shooting, deputies said they performed first aid on Alexander until EMS arrived to take him to Atrium Health Naviscent Hospital.
Alexander, who is from Macon, was taken to the Bibb County Jail after he was treated and released from the hospital. He is facing charges of aggravated assault, possession of stolen property, criminal damage to property and weapons charges related to the incident, according to the GBI.
It is the 26th officer-involved shooting the agency has been asked to investigate this year. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don’t involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI’s tally.
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