The GBI has confirmed it is investigating a deadly shooting that marked the end of a massive manhunt Wednesday for the suspect accused of shooting two DeKalb County deputies.
Edward Allen Gatling, 38, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers from multiple agencies, according to the GBI. Swarms of officers descended upon the Covington Highway corridor to search for the man after the two deputies were shot while attempting to serve him an arrest warrant.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Ultimately, it was a DeKalb County citizen who spotted Gatling around 1:15 p.m. and called 911. He was seen near a creek that passes under Covington Highway, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said.
“Police approached Gatling, ordered Gatling to put his rifle down and show his hands,” she said in a Thursday news release. “Gatling fired at the officers. Officers from multiple agencies fired shots at Gatling. Gatling was hit by gunfire and died at the scene.”
The GBI is investigating at the request of the DeKalb County Police Department. It is the 89th officer-involved shooting the state agency has been asked to investigate this year.
The two wounded deputies, Ja’rad Hunt and Aaron Jackson, were both “doing fine” and were being treated Wednesday at Grady Memorial Hospital, according to DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox. One was shot in the leg and the other was shot in the abdomen.
Hunt and Jackson were part of a fugitive unit who went to Gatling’s home on Wellington Circle to arrest him about 7:30 a.m. According to a warrant, he was accused of shooting a Lithonia man several times with a high-powered rifle Oct. 14 following a fight at a business on DeKalb Industrial Boulevard. The man survived.
“As the deputies approached the apartment, shots were fired from the apartment, hitting two of the deputies,” Miles said. “Gatling ran from the apartment into woods nearby carrying a rifle and backpack. Responding officers rendered aid to the injured deputies and began setting up a perimeter to contain Gatling.”
Maddox said no law enforcement officers fired during the initial encounter with Gatling. Following the shooting, officers with rifles shut down Covington Highway between Phillips and Panola roads as they searched for the man.
Credit: NewsChopper 2
Credit: NewsChopper 2
Multiple law enforcement agencies from DeKalb County and metro Atlanta aided in the nearly six-hour manhunt. In a news conference that followed Gatling’s death, Maddox thanked the agencies for their help. She also thanked the 911 caller who provided the tip.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
“Our job is to make sure the community is safe, and we cannot do our job without the support of them,” she said from the scene of the shootout. “Thankfully, that’s what happened. Someone from the community actually called in and reported a suspicious individual.”
The fatal shooting followed another bout of gunfire that killed a Clayton County police officer Tuesday night. Field Training Officer Henry Laxson was one of four people killed, including the shooter, when police responded to a domestic incident in Rex, according to authorities.
A second Clayton officer and a 12-year-old boy were also injured in the shooting. The boy was in critical condition Wednesday.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
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.
