‘They can feel everyone’s prayers’: 3 Georgia officers recovering after shootout

City leaders, neighbors and the law enforcement community are rallying around three Georgia officers who were shot during a wild car chase and gun battle with two cousins from Alabama on Monday morning.

Carroll County Deputy Jay Repetto, Carrollton police Sgt. Rob Holloway and Villa Rica police Officer Chase Gordy are each recovering from being struck during the shootout, which left one suspect dead and another in custody.

The officers were each admitted to hospitals Monday, officials said. Repetto and Gordy have both since been released. Holloway remains in the intensive care unit at Grady Memorial Hospital, according to Carrollton police Sgt. Meredith Browning. He is in critical condition but doctors are pleased by his progress, she said.

“This morning, everything was great,” Browning said Tuesday. “He was able to answer questions.”

In a statement on Facebook, Holloway’s wife Stephanie publicly thanked those who sent support to her husband.

“She is grateful for all the calls, texts, posts, comments and messages sent to her, their family and our social media,” Carrollton police said in a message posted on her behalf. “Stephanie sends her thanks, love and hugs to all of you. They can feel everyone’s prayers and are forever grateful.”

A group of law enforcement spouses from west Georgia set up a GoFundMe page for Holloway and his family.

Gordy was shot twice and underwent surgery Monday morning at Grady before being released Tuesday evening. The city of Villa Rica said his injuries are not life-threatening and “he is in good spirits.”

“He is doing well,” police spokesman Capt. Keith Shaddix told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Friends of Gordy created a GoFundMe page to help with the wounded officer’s medical expenses as he deals with the “tragedy/trauma that he endured.”

Repetto was shot in the arm and flown to Atlanta Medical Center. He was released later in the day.

During the chase, all three officers were shot and Holloway crashed into a utility pole after taking gunfire in his patrol car, Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley told reporters during a news conference Monday, calling the incident “horrific.”

The man killed was identified as Pier Alexander Shelton, 28, of Birmingham, Alabama. An autopsy will be performed by a GBI Medical Examiner.

His cousin, Aaron Jajuan Shelton, 22, also of Birmingham, was arrested and charged with five counts of aggravated assault and three counts of aggravated battery. He was being held at the Carroll County Jail without bond.

The chase began about 3:30 a.m. when a state trooper clocked a 2015 Nissan Sentra going 111 mph on I-20 in the Bremen area, according to the Georgia State Patrol. The trooper pulled the car over, but it took off again, GSP Capt. Brandon Dawson said.

At one point, the trooper successfully disabled the Sentra using a PIT maneuver, but Dawson said the driver was able to get control of the vehicle again and speed away.

Local authorities then joined the chase as it crossed into Carroll County and traveled through Carrollton and Villa Rica. Multiple rounds were fired from the Sentra, according to the sheriff, striking the vehicles of Repetto, Holloway and Gordy. The rifle used was an AK-47, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said Tuesday.

The pursuit continued until the Nissan crashed near an elementary school in Villa Rica, according to the GBI. Both suspects ran from the vehicle, leading to a search by the pursuing officers.

In two separate instances of gunfire, first at 5 a.m. and then at 5:30 a.m., the men shot at the officers on the scene, the GBI said. It was during those exchanges that Gordy and Repetto were hit and injured, as well as Pier Shelton, who was later pronounced dead at the scene.

During the chase, Holloway was hit by gunfire and injured but continued his pursuit, the GBI said. He later crashed into a utility pole. He was flown to Grady, according to Carrollton police Chief Joel Richards.

The GBI said it is still working to confirm which man allegedly fired at the officers. It has not said who fired the shot that killed Pier Shelton.

The Sheltons had several prior run-ins with law enforcement, according to Alabama-based news outlet al.com.

Aaron Shelton was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder and robbery in 2019. Those charges stemmed from an incident in which he tried to take an undetermined amount of cash from another man, the news outlet reported.

Pier Shelton in 2018 received a 12-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to attempting to elude, al.com reported.