SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — A Spalding County sheriff's deputy was shot and killed and a second deputy broke his hand while responding to a domestic disturbance and welfare check call Friday, Sheriff Darrell Dix said.
The deputy was identified late Friday night as Sgt. Marc McIntyre. He began his time with the Spalding County Sheriff's Office as a detention center officer, first joining them in 2015. He was sworn in as a uniformed patrol deputy in 2017. He worked his way up through SWAT, becoming a shift supervisor -- until he was ambushed.
Dix said the two deputies arrived at a residence and, as they were crossing the yard, were fired at from a window by a suspect with a shotgun. That suspect was identified as 57-year-old Todd Harper.
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One of the deputies was shot in the head, while the other was forced to take cover and returned fire. Additional responding officers were able to retrieve McIntyre and get him transported for emergency medical care; he later died of the critical injury to his head.
The suspect was taken into custody after a lengthy standoff. Sheriff Dix described a SWAT operation that involved ripping apart much of the house to get to the suspect.
The incident happened at a location near Deason Street and Vineyard Road.
Dix said McIntyre was a military veteran who was a supervisor for other deputies and had been with the sheriff's office for roughly 12 years.
"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."
Sheriff Dix added McIntyre was one who "definitely led by example." He said he believed the deputy had served in the Army in Iraq.
"He was a combat veteran, he comes home to serve his community, makes a community safer and he ends up losing his life," Sheriff Dix said. "That's just, it's stunning to have that happen."
The sheriff added the suspect is being held at the Spalding County Jail.
"He is currently in custody in my jail where he will stay. Not gonna send him to another sheriff's jail - he killed my deputy, he's gonna sit in my jail," Dix said, adding that "we want him to face a jury of his peers and let the legal system have its course."
Dix said he hadn't yet spoken to the other deputy - also a military veteran - who was on scene and survived the shooting, but that he'd been told the other deputy was devastated.
"To see your supervisor get shot steps away from you and seeing him laying on the ground and you can't get to him because you're taking gunfire is a horrible thing for any person or any law enforcement officer to have to see," Dix said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said on Friday afternoon, McIntyre's body was transported to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy, and the sheriff confirmed that Georgia State Patrol, Clayton County law enforcement and Spalding deputies were part of the escort.
The GBI is now investigating the shooting.
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
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