GBI Investigates Officer Involved Shooting in Valdosta, GA

Valdosta, GA (September 26, 2025) - At the request of the Valdosta Police Department, GBI Agents are investigating an officer involved shooting in Valdosta, GA. One man was shot and killed in the incident. No officers were injured.

The preliminary information indicates that on September 25, 2025, at 2:30 p.m., a Valdosta Police Department Officer was in the 1000 block of Lamar Street, Valdosta, GA, when the officer heard gunshots. The officer drove towards the gunshots and noticed a man, later identified as Tychicus Armondo Deshazer, age 25, of Valdosta, GA, with a gun, entering the campus of S.L. Mason Elementary School. The school was immediately placed on lockdown, and officers confronted Deshazer as he was approaching the front of the school. During this encounter, Valdosta Police Department Officers shot Deshazer. Officers immediately attempted life-saving measures, but Deshazer was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deshazer shot at multiple cars in the pickup line, hitting one car. No injuries were reported.

The GBI will conduct an independent investigation. Once the investigation is complete, it will be given to the Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.