Americus, Georgia shooting: 1 officer dead, 1 injured
AMERICUS, Ga. — Authorities say one law enforcement officer is dead and another is in “very, very critical condition” after a shooting in southern Georgia, reports CBS affiliate WMAZ.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles says the two officers were shot Wednesday in Americus, about 130 miles south of Atlanta. The suspected shooter, who police identified as Minquell Kennedy Lembrick, remains at large.
Officials in southwest Georgia are offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to Lembrick’s arrest, CBS affiliate WGCL reports.
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon Americus police Chief Scott Mark said Americus officer Nicholas Smarr was killed in the shooting, and the injured officer is Georgia Southwestern State University Officer Jodi Smith.
Mark said the officers were responding to a report of a domestic disturbance when they encountered Lembrick at the scene. Lembrick has previous open felony warrants on charges including kidnapping, Mark said. He is considered armed and dangerous.
Vernon Keenan, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said the bureau is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to Lembrick’s arrest.
The university, which is in Americus, issued an alert on its website saying the shooting occurred off campus but that the campus was on lockdown. Dianne Brown, an administrative assistant with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, said the shooter is not a student at the university.
The wounded officer was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.