GBI Investigates Officer Involved Shooting in Columbus

Columbus, GA (December 20, 2021) –  The GBI is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Columbus, GA. The Columbus Police Department asked the GBI to conduct an independent investigation on Monday, December 20, 2021. One teen, age 16, was injured in this incident. No officers were injured.

The preliminary information indicates that on Sunday evening, December 19, 2021, a Columbus Police Officer initiated a traffic stop on the driver of a car for a traffic violation.  Immediately as the officer approached the driver’s side of the car, the driver (male) pointed a handgun at the officer. The officer retreated and there were no shots fired by the driver or officer. The driver of the car sped away from the scene and was not caught.

Later, Columbus Police Department officers were able to identify the driver of the car as a 16-year-old. Police obtained arrest warrants charging the teen with aggravated assault on a police officer, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, possession of a handgun (under 18 years old), and fleeing to elude police.

On December 20, 2021, at 11:36 a.m., a Columbus patrol officer recognized the car from the previous incident. The officer attempted to stop the car, but the driver (male) sped away and hit a car on Veterans Parkway. The driver abandoned his car and ran into the woods on Veterans Parkway. After a short search, an officer located the person, and he had a handgun. The officer gave him verbal commands to drop the handgun, but he did not comply. The officer fired her handgun, hitting the person in the leg. Police administered first aid and the person was taken to a local hospital in Columbus for treatment.  

Police later determined that the person was the 16-year-old involved in the December 19, 2021 incident.

The GBI will conduct an independent investigation. Anyone with information about this investigation may contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Columbus Regional Investigative Office at (706) 565-7888.  Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1(800) 597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.  Once complete, the case file will be provided to the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.