So at approximately 6:00 o'clock this
afternoon, one of the investigators
for the District Attorney's office
went over the police radio to
indicate that he had been shot.
What we know right now is that while
he was traveling down Auburn Rd.
at some point he was approached
by the driver of a silver SUV,
and the driver of the silver
SUV began shooting at him.
Fortunately,
he was able to pull into a nearby
gas station convenience store
and that's where he went over the
radio to say he had been shot.
That investigator has been
transported to a local hospital
with non life threatening injuries.
The investigators are coming through
all the evidence looking for any
nearby surveillance video to see if
there's anything of value in this case,
But what we know right now is that
the shooter is driving a silver SUV
with a rear passenger side damage.
We've got a lot of officers in
the area who are out looking and
we've also made contact with
nearby police agencies
to see if they have any vehicles
matching that description. Our
aviation unit is out. We've also got
our K9 unit out and we're just doing
everything we can to find whoever
is responsible for this crime.
Was the investigator actively
working a case or was he just off
duty or was he in a police car? It
doesn't appear right now that the
investigator was attached to any police
related investigation. Litigations.
He was simply driving down the road
when he was shot at by the shooter.
Is it believe that he's a target or
a possible road rage incident And
anything wrong with those lines?
We're still trying to
investigate all the motives.
We don't know if the shooter knew
that this was a investigator with
the district attorney's office or
if this was a road rage incident.
The district attorney's office
investigator drives an unmarked SUV,
so there's no overt signs,
like a police car,
that he is a member
of the law enforcement community.
You know where he was. He
was shot on Auburn Rd.
right near the intersection.
So right after he was shot,
he had the opportunity to
pull into that golden pantry.
So it was shortly
before that bodily injuries.
He was shot in one of his extremities.
It's non life threatening and he's
being treated at a local hospital.
How does this change the
investigation for you guys?
You work with the DA's office,
these investigators are out
on scenes with you guys.
How does this change the dynamic of
this investigation for your agency?
Because there's a lot of things
now you have to look at.
So for this particular case,
we want to know what the
motive is for the shooter on.
That's pretty important here,
but we're going to treat
it like any shooting.
And yes, there's going to be a
lot of police officers out here.
We just want to make sure that
we identify who the shooter
is and place him or her in
custody as soon as possible.
Can you
speak about the investigators
service to the DA's office, how long
they've been with the agency,
anything along those lines?
I don't have information about who the
investigator is and how long he or she
has been assigned to the DA's office
and people who don't know how this
operates, how the DA's office works.
Can you explain what a DA investigator is
and just the capacity for the DA's office?
Sure. The District Attorney's office
has sworn law enforcement officers and
usually at the conclusion of a criminal
investigation by a local Police Department,
at least here in Gwinnett County.
That investigation is handed over.
That case file is handed over to the
district attorney's office investigators.
And those investigators just look
through that investigative file
to see if there's anything else
that they need to follow up on.
And so that's kind of how that
relationship comes into play.
Usually when we have a homicide or
any other type of major felony event,
you're going to see members of
the district attorney's office
coming out to our investigations
and they are here on scene today.
Do you think the suspect that shot
at the officer was in the car alone?
Do we think there was multiple
people in the car? Possibly?
It's unclear right now if the
shooter was in his vehicle by
himself or if there were any
other occupants inside that car.
I think it's still kind of early,
but do you have any indication that
that he may, he may have been targeted?
Was it random? Do you guys believe that
it's still too very early to tell
if this was a random act or if this
officer investigator was targeted?
We just need to identify him or her
that investigator is talking over at
the hospital and I don't know what
kind of treatment they're receiving,
but we just hope for a quick
recovery. And at this point can
you talk a little bit more about
the investigators current state,
what condition are or he's in
non life threatening injuries.
The investigator was talking
he was I believe shot in one of
his legs but exactly where I'm
I'm clear jurisdictions and state
and federal agencies assisting
you in the search right now.
So usually when something like this happens,
we give a description out to the
local law enforcement agencies
hoping that if any of their officers
in the area see something or hear
something related to the incident,
they can, you know, pursue the
vehicle or or look for the suspect.
And several of our neighboring
police agencies are.
Actively looking for the suspect
on several situations.
They've come over the radio
saying that they might be
behind the possible shooter,
and those have not
all panned out.
So there's no tags,
just a basic description of
the car with some damage.
You said that that's all
you guys are working with
right now. The only description
I have from the command post is
that it's a silver SUV with rear
passenger side damage. Do you know if
there's traffic cams or anything
around here that that might be cooled
to help with the investigation? We
will always look for traffic cams,
but I will tell you the Department of
Transportation cameras do not record,
they're all live feed only.
So if there's any flock cameras in the area,
if there's any surveillance from say this
angles here or any neighboring businesses,
we will certainly explore.
All those far away was where the shooting
happened to be told to the gas station.
I don't know exactly.
I would say within maybe 1/2
mile to a mile, I'm not sure.
Do you know what's happening right
now as far as the investigation,
what you guys are doing out there right now?
So we're going to have a tow truck
come and take possession of the
investigators vehicle and that will be
transported to Winnette County Police
headquarters so they can process it there.
So our crime scene units going to
come out here and take photos.
The District attorney's office out here,
they're also supplementing the investigation.
We also have a team of investigators and
officers who are at the hospital following
up with that Da's office to see if
there's any additional information
that would be valuable in this case.
That's one officer.
You said it's the sworn officer.
Yes. Now, do they carry weapons?
It's a considered officer involved shooting.
How do you guys label this?
Because I think it's pretty
unique to have a member of the
Da's investigator team shot.
So the sworn officers with the district
Attorney's office do carry firearms.
It's unclear right now if he fired back.
I don't have any information to indicate but
it he was for sure fired upon by a motorist
and was off duty. You're saying
at the time he wasn't working,
he was just driving.
Do you know what home or was just
the initial reports I have was that the
investigator was not on duty assigned to any
calls when he was shot and the
investigator was also driving at the silver
SUV. That's correct.
Yeah. The investigator
is driving a silver Chevy
and I think I saw a single bullet hole.
Do you know of any others?
I don't. Generally we
don't go into the crime scenes.
We see what you see as far
as witnesses. I know a lot of the video
we saw on social media was raining. Is
that complicating this investigation?
The weather at the time is
that we saw a lot of video,
but I didn't know you guys say,
but I actually witnessed this.
I don't know that the rain
has hindered this investigation.
The district attorney's investigators
vehicle is not underneath an.
Awning, but I don't know that there's any,
like, latent prints that we need to
obtain from the vehicle.
This is pretty scary for folks,
especially live around here knowing
that this person is still out there.
What do you what's your message
to the public tonight as the
search continues for the suspect,
we ask people to be on the
lookout for our suspect.
Silver SUV with rear passenger side damage.
If you know of anybody who
drives a vehicle like that,
or a family member or a friend,
call us and let us investigate it.
Call your local Police
Department and we'll look into it.
We have another update tonight.
How you guys gonna leave? Another one?
Yeah, we'll most likely be
posting updates on social media,
Twitter and Facebook.
I will usually on these cases.
I will go down to the command post.
I'll go back down to the scene,
see if there's any updates.
If they want me to update it, I will come.
Back here, but I know you guys
don't want to largely stay here.
You probably want to go back to the scene.
You guys can go all the way up to
the crime scene tape.
Any other questions? Auburn,
Westbone, or because Auburn goes this way,
right, Westbone. He was coming, so
he was traveling this direction
towards Auburn, towards Dacula Road
and do you know exactly the
time he dispatched? Even shot
6 O 3:00 PM.
And do you know if that's a Gwinnett
police helicopter or that's APD?
I thought it was APD.
I do know that we have our own
aircraft in the area, but I don't
know if that's ours. It looks like
ours if I had to get. OK. Gotcha.
Thanks, Michelle. Appreciate it.
You're welcome. Thank you.