GBI: Man is killed by Spalding deputies after shots fired at home

The GBI said a man was shot to death by Spalding County deputies as they responded to a report of a fight late Saturday, marking the 100th officer-involved shooting the state agency has investigated this year.

Michael Antonio Cobb Jr., 23, allegedly fired multiple shots at residents in a home on Lakeview Street in the Experiment area just outside Griffin, according to the GBI. It was just before midnight when deputies were called, and they saw Cobb running away when they arrived.

He eventually returned to the scene, and “during the incident, a deputy fired at Cobb and hit Cobb,” the GBI said. It was not clear what caused deputies to fire shots. No law enforcement officers were injured.

The GBI will conduct an independent investigation, and once complete, the case file will be given to the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.

Saturday’s incident came a day after a man was shot by police following a domestic dispute in Fayetteville. In that case, 20-year-old Tavares Richardson allegedly pulled out a gun and ran from officers who stopped him and asked for identification. They were looking for him after a driver reported Richardson had been arguing with a woman in the backseat of a car and had a gun.

Richardson was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, but an update on his condition has not been released.

In 2022, the GBI was called to its 100th police shooting Nov. 4. By this time last year, there had been 108 such cases.

Anyone with information on the Spalding case is encouraged to contact the GBI’s regional investigative office in Columbus at 706-565-7888. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), going online at gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tipsonline, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.