Man shot, killed after opening fire on deputies, sheriff says

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating a deputy-involved shooting in Hall County.

According to the Hall County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to a home on Ridgeway Drive to a report of a suspicious man armed with a gun.

At one point, authorities said the man ran from deputies and fired several times at them in the process. Three deputies fired back, killing the man.

"And I heard a cop say, 'Drop your weapon, drop your weapon, drop your weapon,'" said neighbor James Belton.

Those were not the words he expected to hear first thing in the morning outside his home.

"He wouldn't drop it. I reckon he turned around and pointed the gun at the police officers," he said.

Belton says the deputies had no choice at the point.

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The bureau's spokesperson, Nelly Miles, confirmed on Twitter that agents were investigating the shooting.

No deputies were injured in the shooting.

Lt. Scott Ware with the Hall County Sheriff's Office said he did not know if the man lived in the mobile home community.

Belton said he won't soon forget the loud exchange of gunfire.

"It went. 'Pop, pop, pop, pop.' And then you heard, 'Pah, pah, pah.' That ain't no firecracker," he said.

The three deputies have been placed on administrative leave.

Belton said they've had problems with crime in the area and he wonders if this shooting had something to do with that.

Cox Media Group