Deputies fire on gunman

David Willoughby, 33, was killed after refusing to drop gun.

A man was shot and killed late Monday after he pointed a pellet gun at Carroll County sheriff ’s deputies and disobeyed commands to drop the weapon, the

GBI said.

Authorities did not learn what 33-year-old David Willoughby was pointing at them until after the shooting, which occurred about 11 p.m. on West Lakeview Drive and Bar J Road near Temple.

A homeowner in the West Lakeview Estates called 911 about 30 minutes before the shooting and told authorities someone was walking in the back yard with a shotgun or rifle, the GBI said.

Deputies found Willoughby hiding in a wooded area. He pointed the pellet gun at them, and the deputies ordered Willoughby to drop it, according to the GBI. He refused, prompting deputies to open fire.

They fired several rounds, GBI spokesman Chris DeMarco said.

Willoughby was taken to Tanner Medical Center in Villa Rica, where he died. An autopsy will be performed at the GBI Crime

Lab in Decatur. No deputies were injured during the shooting.

The GBI is looking into the deadly incident, which is standard protocol in use-of-force cases.

“Once completed,” DeMarco said, “the case will be turned over to the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.”

In 2017, the GBI investigated 95 officer-involved shootings. So far this year there have been 15.

By Greg Bluestein gbluestein@ajc.com JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM GBI officials investigate the scene where Carroll County sheriff’s deputies encountered a man with a pellet gun hiding near West Lakeview Estates late Monday. The man, David Willoughby, pointed the gun at deputies and was shot after refusing to drop it.