Middle Georgia deputy shot during call; suspect in custody
A Lamar County deputy is recovering after he was shot while responding to a call Saturday night, officials said.
Deputy Justyn Weaver was flown to a hospital after the incident, which started as a suspicious person call in Milner, the sheriff’s office said.
Weaver was sent to Moore Street just after 10 p.m., officials said. When he arrived, he was met with “numerous shotgun blasts to his vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said.
It is not clear how many times Weaver was hit. He sustained injuries to his face and left arm.
The suspect, later identified by the sheriff’s office as 38-year-old Donald Chandler Gordy, fled the scene of the shooting in a white pickup truck. Gordy was later arrested on I-20 in Alabama by the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.
The Lamar sheriff’s office has obtained a warrant accusing Gordy of aggravated assault. He is in custody in Alabama awaiting extradition to Georgia.
Weaver has been employed by the sheriff’s office for three years, officials said.
“He recently received an award by Community Ambulance for his heroic acts in saving a man’s life,” the sheriff’s office said.
About the Author
Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
