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Off-duty Fulton County sheriff's deputy shot and killed
The hunt continues for the gunman who shot and killed an off-duty Fulton County Sheriff's deputy. It happened on Bolton Road in northwest Atlanta around 4:30 Thursday morning. The deputy was on his way home from work.
ATLANTA - Police have identified a man found shot to death in the driver's seat of a car on a northwest Atlanta road as a Fulton County deputy.
Sheriff Pat Labat said he was waiting until the deputy's family arrived to release his name, but said he had personally hired the deputy from a different law enforcement agency south of Atlanta. The reward for information leading to an arrest has been increased to $10,000.
"He was a very good spirit, and it didn't matter what the situation was," Labat said on Thursday afternoon.
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Investigative update on slain Fulton County Sheriff's Office deputy
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat and an Atlanta police homicide investigator discuss the deadly shooting of a deputy.
Labat said the deputy, a 24-year-old from Mississippi, worked on Wednesday night.
"He was an outstanding young man. We personally recruited him from another agency down south specifically because of his energy and the love for what he brought to our agency," Labat said.
Officers blocked off both sides of Bolton Road NW at Payton Road early Thursday morning to investigate the shooting.
According to authorities officers were originally called to the scene at around 4:30 a.m. after reports of a person shot. They found a car that had been in a crash with the victim still inside.
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Police investigating deadly shooting of man found in crashed car
Police say they can't rule out a road rage incident after a man was found shot dead in a crashed car on a northwest Atlanta road.
FOX 5 cameras saw the body of a man sitting in the driver's seat of a gray Ford Fusion that was parked on the road.
Atlanta police investigators spoke to the driver of a van who heard gunshots. They're cooperating with investigators.
"The van observed the victim's vehicle kind of driving erratically in the middle of the road on Bolton Road," Atlanta police investigator Peter Malecki said. "When they went to pass that vehicle is when they belie they heard gunfire."
Police don't believe that person is linked to the shooting.
"That person has come forward and is cooperating with police," Malecki said. "We don't have any evidence to suggest they are involved in the actual shooting."
It is unclear whether the deputy was shot before or after the crash.
"Right now, we do not know if the shooter was a pedestrian on foot or if he was perhaps in another vehicle," Malecki said.
Labat said the man manifested "what you would want in a deputy."
Officials are asking any witnesses who saw the crash or heard gunfire to come forward. If you have any information that could help the investigation, call the Atlanta Police Department or Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS(8477) or submit a tip online at crimestoppersatlanta.org.
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