Forsyth County deputies were involved in a shooting Friday morning that killed a stalking suspect after a pursuit near Lake Lanier.
The incident began with a 911 call about 3:20 a.m., when a woman told deputies her ex-husband was at her home, violating her temporary protective order, the GBI said in a news release.
The man was gone before the deputies arrived, but his vehicle was later spotted on a nearby road, sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Doug Rainwater said. After a short pursuit, the vehicle was stopped on Browns Bridge Road when deputies threw out stop sticks to deflate his tires, the GBI said.
The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Anthony Viadero of Cumming, got out of his vehicle and pointed a gun at the deputies, the release said. He allegedly began to “quickly advance” on one deputy, despite verbal commands, and the deputy shot him.
Viadero was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where he died. No deputies were injured.
Viadero did not fire his weapon, Rainwater said. The GBI concluded it was a black BB gun with a laser sight.
The deputy involved was placed on “routine administrative leave,” the sheriff’s office said.
The road, which runs just north of Lake Lanier, was shut down in both directions east of Six Mile Park, the agency said on Twitter. It reopened about 7 a.m. after the suspect’s vehicle was towed from the scene.
It is the 70th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate in 2019, according to agency spokeswoman Nelly Miles.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don't involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI's tally.
