Patrick Carothers was a dedicated lawman, a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Marshals Service and the deputy commander of its Southeast Regional Task Force. He risked his life every day to bring some of the country’s most dangerous fugitives to justice.
The folks at Greater Atlanta Christian School – the Gwinnett County institution where three of his children graduated, two are still in school and Terry, his wife of 30 years, works – knew all of that. But they also knew him as a caring, supportive, “deeply engaged dad.”
“The GAC community knew and appreciated his service as a U.S. Marshal,” GAC president David Fincher said. “Yet, he always found a way to be involved in his children’s activities on campus.”
Fincher released his statement on Monday – three days after Carothers was shot and killed by a fugitive in southeast Georgia.
A Flowery Branch resident, Carothers was 53 years old.
"I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of U.S. Marshals Service Deputy Commander Patrick Carothers -- a devoted husband, a loving father and an outstanding public servant," U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a news release. "Deputy Commander Carothers served the American people with fidelity and courage throughout his distinguished career. He stayed true to his oath to the last, laying down his life to keep his community safe and his neighbors secure."
Carothers, was part of a team executing a warrant for an "extremely dangerous" fugitive out of South Carolina when he was killed Friday morning in Long County, officials said.
Dontrell Montese Carter, who was wanted on charges including attempted murder of police officers, had been tracked to a trailer near Ludowici, a small town about 55 miles southwest of Savannah. Carothers was shot twice when his team attempted to enter the trailer, and he later died at a hospital in Hinesville.
Carter was also shot multiple times and later died at a hospital in Savannah, officials said.
"Pat is a hero and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and five children," U.S. Marshal Service Deputy Director David Harlow said in a news release issued Friday.
Carothers was born at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and, in 1986, graduated from Florida State University with a degree in criminology. He was a member of the Buford Church of God, according to his obituary.
He is survived by four siblings; his father; his wife; and his children.
Three of Carothers' children have attended the Naval Academy and one of them, Paul, is currently on the football team there.The team wore helmet stickers in Patrick Carothers' honor on Saturday.
Carothers' family will receive friends from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Flanigan Funeral Home in Buford. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday inside the Long Forum at GAC, 1575 Indian Trail Road in Norcross.
Carothers will be buried Nov. 29 in Luray, Virginia, where he attended high school.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Patrick Carothers' honor may be made to the U. S. Marshals Survivors Benefit Fund, P. O. Box 11730, Bozeman, MT 59719, or online at usmarshalsfund.org.
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