Deputy ‘an inch’ away from being killed before fatally shooting suspect, Hall sheriff says

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch is releasing new details on a shooting involving a deputy that left a suspect dead.

Couch says the deputy found a man and woman standing outside of a car that was blocking F. Gilmer Road just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday night.

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The deputy asked the man to turn around so he could pat him down for weapons. Instead of turning around, the man reached behind his back, pulled out a gun and opened fire on the deputy, the sheriff said.

One of the bullets hit the deputy’s magazine pouch on his duty belt, blocking him from being shot.

“Had the bullet strayed an inch, our deputy could have been critically injured, or even killed,” Sheriff Couch said in a statement.

The sheriff says the deputy then began firing back at the suspect, striking him multiple times. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity has not been released.

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Investigators later learned that the car the couple was traveling in had been reported stolen and the man who was killed had an active warrant for his arrest.

Officials said the woman ran from the scene into a wooded area. Deputies who arrived at the scene arrested her shortly after she ran. She was transported to a local hospital for evaluation. Her identity has not been released.

“In my 40 years of law enforcement, I have never seen our deputies facing any greater dangers than they do today,” Sheriff Couch said. “As your Sheriff, I ask that you remember the men and women of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office as they go to work for you each day. We consider it an honor and a privilege to serve you.”

The involved deputy, whose identity has not been released, has been placed on administrative leave with pay while the Georgia Bureau of Investigation completes its investigation.

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The sheriff says this marks the fourth officer-involved shooting in Hall County since the beginning of 2022.

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