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June 24, 2009

Shootout leaves Fort Oglethorpe police officer injured, suspect dead

Heather Gentry, Mark Andrews, Catoosa County News

A Fort Oglethorpe police officer is recovering and a Walker County fugitive is dead today following a shootout when authorities tried to serve an arrest warrant.

The incident occurred about 10 a.m. on Battlefield Parkway in Chick-fil-A’s parking lot.

The officer, identified as Mitchell Moore with the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department, was taken to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, where his back was X-rayed. According to someone close to the situation and who asked not to be identified, a bullet hit Moore’s bullet-proof vest and ricocheted, causing a bruise. He is in good condition.

The suspect was taken to Hutcheson Medical Center in Fort Oglethorpe. He was shot in the neck and face. He was pronounced dead between 10:35 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. His body is being sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Atlanta. The suspect’s identity is being withheld pending notification of family.

Besides law enforcement, a number of public officials were on the scene, including Fort Oglethorpe Mayor Ronnie Cobb, council members Louis Hamm, Johnnie Smith and Steve Brandon, building official Mark Lindsay and state Rep. Jay Neal of Chickamauga.

The suspect said he was not going to be taken alive, Mayor Cobb said.

Officials were attempting to serve an aggravated stalking warrant from the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Oglethorpe police chief David Eubanks said. The officer who shot the suspect is a Walker County sheriff’s deputy, the chief said.

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime scene truck was called to the scene. The case has been turned over to the GBI.

According to WDEF News 12 in Chattanooga, officers had chased the suspect from the Chickamauga area following a stabbing incident. He was stopped at the restuarant parking lot and as officers approached he yelled, "You're going to have to kill me." At that point, according to unofficial reports, the officer tried to Tase the suspect, who then pulled a gun and shot the officer.

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