Georgia man on the run after fatally shooting wife, cops say

Georgia authorities are searching for a 50-year-old accused of shooting and killing his wife Sunday evening at the couple’s Polk County home.

The fatal shooting occurred sometime between 8 and 9 p.m. at the house along Rice Road, just north of Rockmart, Polk County police Chief Kenny Dodd told AJC.com. Officers arrived to find 36-year-old Ginger Blackmon dead at the scene.

Her husband, Jimmy Brian Blackmon, was quickly identified as a suspect and investigators released a description of his black GMC pickup truck.

“He came home and shot her before leaving the scene,” Dodd said Tuesday, adding that detectives are not yet releasing the suspected motive in the case. Investigators said the couple hadn’t been married for long.

Corey Brian Blackmon, 21, was arrested on an obstruction charge Sunday evening after investigators said he assisted in his father’s getaway and then lied to police about it.

Several hours after the shooting, a truck driver spotted Jimmy Blackmon’s pickup at a Walmart along U.S. 411 in east Rome, Dodd said. The driver told Floyd County police he saw two men hugging before the older man, later identified as Jimmy Blackmon, got into his son’s truck and left.

“We had already talked with the 21-year-old son and he said he hadn’t talked to his dad and didn’t know where he was,” Dodd said. “We went back and Corey confessed that he picked his daddy up and dropped him off at Ga. 101 and Pleasant Valley Road in (southern) Floyd County.”

Corey Blackmon was booked into the Polk County Jail and later released on $1,400 bond, the Polk County Standard Journal reported. Dodd said investigators are still searching for Jimmy Blackmon, who has hunting property in Illinois and may have fled north.

Jimmy Blackmon is considered armed and dangerous, and anyone who knows his whereabouts is asked to call Polk County police at 770-748-3400 or 911.

— Please return to AJC.com for updates.

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