3 officers injured, suspect dead after chase, shooting

Early morning pursuit crosses Atlanta area; second suspect arrested

ATLANTA – Three metro Atlanta officers were injured Monday morning after a police chase entered Carroll County, Georgia, and a passenger fired multiple rounds with a rifle, officials said.

Two officers were shot, and a third crashed into a utility pole after taking gunfire during the chase, Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley said during a news conference. One suspect was killed by police, and a second was taken into custody.

A Carroll County sheriff’s deputy, a Carrollton police officer and a Villa Rica police officer were taken to metro Atlanta hospitals, Langley said. The deputy was released from the hospital Monday afternoon, but the conditions of the other officers were not released.

“We want to send our prayers out to all the families involved, to those officers that were shot for their speedy recovery, and that the doctors would do what they need to do,” Langley said, calling the shooting “horrific.”

The chase started about 3:30 a.m. when a state trooper clocked a Nissan going 111 mph on Interstate 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 disabled the speeding car using a pursuit intervention technique, but Dawson said the driver was able to get control of the vehicle again.

“His passenger used a rifle and shot at the trooper’s patrol car, actually striking him and disabling his patrol car,” Dawson said. The trooper was uninjured, he said.

Local authorities joined the chase as it crossed into

Carroll County and traveled through Carrollton and Villa Rica. Multiple rounds were fired from the fleeing Nissan, according to the sheriff, striking the vehicles of Carroll County Deputy Jay Repetto, Carrollton police Sgt. Rob Holloway and Villa Rica police Officer Chase Gordy.

Repetto was shot in the arm and flown to Atlanta Medical Center and later released, Langley said.

Holloway crashed into a utility pole and was also flown to a hospital, according to Carrollton police Chief Joel Richards. It was not clear if he was injured by the gunfire.

Gordy was shot twice and underwent surgery Monday morning. Villa Rica police Chief Michael Mansour said his department was still waiting for an update on his progress.

The GBI is taking the lead on the investigation into the officer-involved shooting and the aggravated assault against the officers. Agents did not say which agency fired the fatal shot that killed the suspect, whose name was not released. It was unknown if the slain suspect was the driver or the passenger.

The other suspect, who was not identified, was taken into custody after the chase ended in the area of Georgia 61 and Flat Rock Road, according to Langley. More details were expected to be released by the GBI, he said.

There is no longer any threat to the public.

“It could have been a lot worse, and we’re thankful,” Langley said. “We pray for the speedy recovery of those officers.”

This is the 20th officerinvolved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year and the ninth to end in death.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officerinvolved shootings that don’t involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI’s tally.