SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — The Spalding County sheriff is warning against fake fundraisers for a deputy shot and killed in the line of duty on Friday.
On Facebook Monday, the Spalding County Sheriff's Office account posted that they had not yet set up a fundraiser of any kind of Deputy Sgt. Marc McIntyre.
"I hate to even have to put this out but: The Spalding County Sheriff’s Office has not set up a go fund me account for Marc, his fiancée, or anyone else," the post stated.
The sheriff's office added it will soon be starting a bank account where "you can make a donation to if you wish, and information about that will be published as soon as the account is open and available."
"Even at a time like this scammers prey on those who are suffering, so be careful," the sheriff's office said.
A GoFundMe spokesperson said in a statement:
"When there’s an unspeakable tragedy, people often feel a deep urge to help and provide comfort to those affected. It is not uncommon for someone to create a GoFundMe page to assist another individual after a news report. Upon discovering that the Sheriff’s Office plans to establish a bank account to aid Sergeant McIntyre's family with funeral expenses, we removed the related fundraiser and all donors have been refunded.”
McIntyre and a second deputy were responding to a domestic disturbance and welfare check call on Friday when, Sheriff Darrell Dix said, a suspect fired at them from the house. McIntyre was shot in the head and died from his injuries.
"I have an entire shift of deputies who work with this supervisor who are absolutely devastated," Sheriff Dix said. "This supervisor was one of those guys that, every time you saw him, he was smiling. He would call your name across the parking lot just to say hey to you. He lit up a room when he walked in, he had a command presence about him and the people that worked wit him on his shift, they loved him."
"It's a devastating loss, not just for our agency, but for this community," Dix later said at a vigil.