GBI Investigates Officer Involved Shooting in Hall County

Hall County, GA (January 6, 2025) – At the request of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, GBI agents are investigating an officer involved shooting in Hall County, Georgia. No one was injured during the incident.

Preliminary information indicates that at about 3:00 a.m., Hall County deputies attempted a traffic stop on a man, later identified as Austin Abel, 27, of Cleveland, Georgia, driving erratically northbound on State Road 365. Deputies chased Abel to Brookton Lula Road near the intersection of Clarks Bridge Road, and as he was driving, Abel fired several rounds at one of the deputies chasing him. The deputy returned fire at Abel from his patrol car. Abel shot the deputy’s patrol car multiple times. The chase continued, and about two miles away from the shooting location, deputies forced Abel’s SUV into a ditch on Lula Road. After the SUV was stopped, Abel initially refused to come out of the SUV, but eventually complied and was taken into custody. EMTs treated Abel at the scene and he was taken to the Hall County Detention Center.

Abel was charged with four counts of Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer, Fleeing/Attempting to Elude, Obstruction of a Police Officer, DUI Drugs-Less Safe, and multiple other traffic violations.

The GBI will conduct an independent investigation. Once complete, the file will be given to the Hall County District Attorney’s Office for review.