July 30, 2018
UPDATE: GBI Investigates Officer Involved Shooting in Savannah
Update
On Monday, July 30, 2018, the Savannah Police Department charged Chantz Cooper with Criminal Attempt at Armed Robbery, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon in reference to the New Castle Street shooting that occurred prior to the Stratford Street incident. Preliminary information from the Savannah Police Department’s Forensic Unit indicates that shell casings from both scenes are a match, and they are the same caliber as the gun used by Cooper. The bystander has been identified as Cooper’s grandmother, Cynthia Fields. During the incident, Savannah Police Officers found Cooper on the porch of his grandmother’s home on Stratford Street.
Original Release
Savannah, Georgia (July 28, 2018) – On Friday, July 27, 2018, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was requested by the Savannah Police Department to investigate an officer involved shooting that occurred in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia.
Preliminary information indicates that while investigating a shooting incident that occurred on New Castle Street, Savannah PD Officers encountered a person in the 1600 block of Stratford Street, Savannah, GA who matched the description of the person who may have been involved in the earlier incident. This person was later determined to be Chantz Cooper, 20, of Savannah, Georgia. During the encounter, it appears shots were exchanged between Cooper and a Savannah PD Officer at which time a bystander inside a residence was struck by gunfire. Officers and EMS personnel rendered aid to the bystander who subsequently died on scene as a result of her injuries.
An autopsy will be performed at the GBI Crime Lab in Savannah. At this point in the investigation, the origin of the bystander’s lethal injuries is unknown. Cooper was also injured as a result of the incident and was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No officers were injured during the incident.
The GBI will conduct an independent investigation to determine what occurred during the incident. When the investigation is complete, it will be turned over to the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office for review.