Two Peach County, Georgia, Sheriff deputies were shot Sunday including one fatally after they responded to a dispute between neighbors, authorities told CNN.
Peach County Coroner Kerry Rooks identified Peach County Sheriff Deputy Patrick Sondron, 41, as the officer who died of a gunshot wound.
Authorities declined to release the second officer’s name and their condition is not currently known.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent J.T. Ricketson said the incident started when a motorist on a four-wheeler and another on a motorcycle got into a confrontation. They were then “threatened” by a third individual with a gun. The two motorists called 911, Ricketson said.
The two deputies responded to the call around 5:30 p.m. on Hardison Road near Byron, which is about 92 miles south of Atlanta, CNN affiliate WGXA reported.
The suspect fired at the deputies when they arrived at the scene, Ricketson said. The officers returned fire, hitting the suspect at least twice. He was taken to a hospital in Macon.
The two motorists who originally called 911 witnessed the shooting and called police again, WGXA reported.
Sondron died at a local hospital in Bryon, authorities said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is on the scene and has obtained a search warrant for the suspect’s house, Ricketson said.