CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — Bartow County Coroner Joel Guyton confirmed to Channel 2’s Candace McCowan that a man died after he was shot in Cartersville Tuesday morning.
Witnesses said he was shot and killed by a Bartow Sheriff’s Office deputy.
“The man was trying to hurt him, and he’s supposed to protect himself,” said Richard Taylor who says he witnessed the shooting at the Grassdale Suites. “I seen him crying, wiping tears. You can see a lot of remorse on his face,” said Taylor about the deputy who he said shot a man right outside his front door.
“The guy shot up the police and the police returned fire,” said Taylor.
The altercation started when the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office said they were called to a McDonald’s on Joe Frank Harris Parkway at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday because of reports that a man pulled a weapon on an employee in the drive-thru.
“He was at McDonald’s flashing his gun. The folks, they called 12 on him. He ran through over here. I guess he was having one of them days,” said Brakaylen Stocks who lives in Grassdale Suites next to the McDonald’s.
The suspect ran from the McDonald’s to the parking lot of the Grassland Suites, where witnesses told Channel 2 Action News gunfire was exchanged between the suspect and the deputy who pulled up in this car. It’s not clear if the deputy was struck.
Neighbors say the suspect does not live in their community.
“(The deputy) did what any police officer would do. I mean, he shot at him,” said Taylor. “It’s sad that it happened. It’s, it really is.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says the investigation is active and ongoing.
The identity of the man shot by the deputy hasn’t been disclosed. Channel 2 Action News asked if that deputy was struck by the gunfire.
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