Clarke County

Body camera footage of deadly domestic disturbance released

By Justin Wilfon, WSB-TV
By Justin Wilfon, WSB-TV

CLARKE COUNTY, Ga. — Just hours after it happened, police body camera video shows a shootout with an officer.

Investigators said the man had just killed a woman in Athens, in the area of Columbia Brookeside off Hawthorne Avenue.

After being called to the the area Monday afternoon on a report of a man with a gun, the officer arrived just in time to see Nicholas Head, 27, shoot and kill Quintavia Wade, 28.

Seconds later, the officer opened fire on the suspect.

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“Drop the gun now. Put the hands up, put the hands up,” officer Edward Herron can be heard saying in the video.

Police tell us it’s unclear if the officer’s shots hit the suspect, but at about that same time, police say he shot himself.

“He shot himself, he shot himself,” Herron can be heard saying.

Herron, a five year veteran of the force, escaped unharmed.

Police told Channel 2's Justin Wilfon the suspect never fired at the officer.

At the scene, Athens policel along with GBI investigators continued to gather evidence throughout the night, as the family of Quintavia Wade began to mourn.

“It’s sad. Ithurts.  It hurts the whole family for something like this to happen. And it shouldn’t happen,” Wade's mother said.

Police said Wade was the cousin of Head’s girlfriend, who may have been caught in the middle of some kind of 'lovers' quarrel.

Head’s girlfriend wasn’t at the scene of the crime.

“It’s difficult to restore a sense of peace to the community but we’re going to do everything we can working with our residents here, to achieve that,” Wade's mother said.

Police said they were called to a separate domestic dispute between Head and his girlfriend at a different address earlier in the day, but couldn’t find Head at that scene.

Head is now in intensive care at a local hospital.

If he lives, police say he’ll be charged with murder.

Cox Media Group

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