BANKS COUNTY, Ga. — A possible kidnapping victim and a Banks County sheriff's deputy are both recovering after an early morning shooting on Tuesday. It is the second shooting involving a law enforcement officer in Georgia in the last 24 hours.
The sheriff's office said the deputy was on routine patrol at 2 a.m. when they spotted a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of the Super 8 Motel.
"It is believed that the deputies identified a person of interest in an out-of-state kidnapping," the sheriff's office wrote on social media.
During the encounter, the sheriff's office said the suspect pulled out a gun and "abruptly shot his victim." That's when they said deputies responded with gunfire.
"As gunfire exchanged, a deputy was shot in the hand and vest. The suspect received multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to a local hospital," they wrote.
Sheriff Carlton Speed said they requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to assist in the case.
According to the GBI's preliminary investigation, deputies found the suspect and the kidnapping victim asleep in the backseat of the car right before the shooting took place. After checking the license plate, deputies told the GBI that the car's owner was wanted for kidnapping in North Carolina.
"The deputies attempted to wake the people in the car," the GBI said in a release. That's when the suspect pulled out a gun, shot the woman, before firing shots at deputies.
The deputy suffered non life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital. The kidnapping victim was also transported to the hospital and her condition is unknown.
Charges are pending against the suspect from the Banks County Sheriff's Office.
The GBI said it is still conducting its independent investigation. Once finished, it will turn its findings over to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office for review.