Sheriff: Hall County deputy 'called' to use deadly force when suspect's bullet hit magazine pouch
Authorities investigate and officer-involved shooting in Hall County.
HALL COUNTY, Ga. - Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said a deputy who shot and killed a suspect while investigating a suspicious car was authorized to shoot the man after nearly being hit by a bullet.
The shooting happened in the evening on Oct. 25 at F. Gilmer Road near Gillsville. In a statement on Friday, Couch said the deputy was talking to a man and woman standing next to a car blocking the road when a suspect, identified as 25-year-old Gainesville resident Javier Manuel Soto, drew a handgun and fired at the deputy. The sheriff said the bullet stuck the deputy's magazine pouch on his duty belt.
County said the unnamed deputy and suspect exchanged gunfire. Soto was hit multiple times and died at the scene. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said authorities arrested the woman later after she fled.
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Investigators determined the car the two were standing near was stolen.
Couch said the deputy is on administrative leave while the GBI investigates the shooting.
"In my 40 years of law enforcement, I have never seen our deputies facing any greater dangers than they do today," a statement from the sheriff said. "Had the bullet strayed an inch, our deputy could have been critically injured – or even killed – Tuesday night. None of us goes to work thinking we will have to take someone’s life. Unfortunately, there are times when we are called to use deadly force. The offender in this case made the decision to open fire on our deputy and died as a result of his felonious actions."