Georgia deputy killed after he was ambushed with "hail of bullets" while responding to a domestic dispute call
A Georgia sheriff's deputy was shot and killed while responding to a reported domestic dispute in what police said was an ambush on officers by a suspect who took his own life.
Deputy Brandon Cunningham, 30, and another deputy responded to a call shortly after 6 a.m. ET Saturday at a home in a subdivision in Hiram, Georgia. Upon arrival, a male suspect fired a "hail of bullets" at the deputies and other officers, striking Cunningham, Major Ashley Henson of the Paulding County Sherriff's Office said during a news briefing.
"Unfortunately, it appears as if our deputies were ambushed," Henson said.
He called the shooting a "tremendously tragic situation."
"This is something that has never happened in the history of the Paulding County Sheriff's Office," Henson said, according to CBS affiliate WNAF. "We have never lost a deputy in the line of duty."
Cunningham died at a hospital from a gunshot wound, said Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge.
"Tonight, we've lost a hero," Gulledge said, adding that "it's going to be a tough time for all of us and all of our guys."
The suspect, who was not immediately identified, died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Henson said.
A woman who was involved in the domestic dispute had left but returned while police were at the scene. She also had been shot and was transported to an Atlanta-area hospital and listed in stable condition, Henson said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will oversee the investigation, Henson said, adding that it was not immediately clear if any of the officers returned fire in the community about 27 miles northwest of Atlanta.
Cunningham started working for the sheriff's department in 2020 and had been in the uniform patrol division for about two years, WNAF reported. He leaves behind two children.
"Our hearts are broken," Henson said. "You see us holding it together but there are going to be, there is already heartache, there is already tears."
