Sheriff’s deputy fatally shot in standoff at home in Georgia

GRIFFIN, Ga. (AP) —

A Georgia sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot Friday while responding to a report of a domestic disturbance at a home in Spalding County, officials said.

Sheriff Darrell Dix said at a news conference that a man fired a shotgun from a window of the home as two deputies crossed the yard, hitting one of them in the head. The deputy was taken to a hospital but died.

The other deputy returned fire, authorities said. The man barricaded himself in the home, and the standoff ended when officers used armored equipment to enter and found him hiding under a mattress.

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Authorities did not immediately release the name of the slain deputy, but Dix said he was a supervisor and military veteran.

“One of those guys that every time you saw him he would smile. He would call your name across the parking lot just to say hey to you. He had a command presence about him, and the people who worked with him on his shift loved him,” Dix said.

The suspect was identified as Todd Lamont Harper, 57. He was being held at the Spalding County Jail, the sheriff said. Jail records did not immediately list Harper as an inmate, and it was not clear whether he had an attorney.

Dix said law enforcement had responded to the home previously because of concerns about Harper’s behavior and mental health.

Spalding County has a population of about 67,000 and is mostly rural. Its county seat, Griffin, is about 40 miles (50 kilometers) south of Atlanta.