A deputy was shot multiple times and a suspect was injured early Friday morning during an exchange of gunfire in South Georgia, the GBI said.
The shooting occurred in the Eldorado community of Tift County, located between Tifton and Valdosta along I-75. The incident began after Tift County deputies responded to a 911 call about a “disturbance” involving two men who were reportedly knocking on several doors in the neighborhood, according to the GBI.
“Deputies located the men and attempted to identify them,” agency spokeswoman Nelly Miles said. “During the incident, one of the men fired shots at a deputy, striking the deputy multiple times.”
A second deputy returned fire, hitting the man, Miles said. Both the suspect, 40-year-old Justin Freeman of Robbins, North Carolina, and the wounded deputy were listed in serious condition Friday afternoon. The second man was taken into custody at the scene.
The deputy was later identified as Robert Owens.
Friday morning’s incident is at least the 36th police shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year and the second this week in South Georgia. On Tuesday, a 48-year-old man was fatally shot in Berrien County after reportedly pulling a knife on a Ray City police officer during a wellness check.
The AJC 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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