Alamo, Georgia (AP) — Authorities arrested suspect Shoot down Georgia police officers During his first shift in the department.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced on Sunday that 43-year-old Damian Anthony Ferguson was detained after a major investigation. Other details have not been released, and authorities said they would hold a press conference later that day.
Officials said Ferguson had fatally shot 26-year-old police officer Dylan Harrison outside the Alamo police station early Saturday. Officials have not disclosed what triggered the shooting in Wheeler County, about 90 miles (145 km) southeast of Macon.
“Police Harrison was a part-time Alamo police officer who was making his first shift at the station last night,” GBI spokesperson Natalie Ammons said at a news conference, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. .. She said Harrison was also a full-time O’Connie Drug Task Force Agent in nearby Dodge County.
Harrison lives in Lawrence County and is survived by his wife and their 6-month-old son.
“Our heartfelt thoughts, prayers, and condolences to Police Officer Dylan Harrison’s family, friends, and colleagues who were killed on duty in Alamo last night,” said Sheriff Sim Davidson of Telfair County on Facebook. I wrote in. “We are truly grateful for his service.”
Harrison was the first Alamo officer to be killed on duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which is tracking law enforcement deaths. In January, Alamo police officer Arturo Villegas died of complications from COVID-19.
Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia Department of Public Security have expressed their condolences to the police’s family and colleagues.
“May God protect and remain with all who serve,” Kemp wrote.
According to the memorial page, at least five Georgian police officers were killed in the line of duty this year, and nearly 20 more died of COVID-19. In 2020, seven Georgian police officers were killed on duty.