GBI Investigates Officer Involved Shooting in Columbus, GA

Columbus, Muscogee County, GA (June 24, 2026) - At the request of the Columbus Police Department (CPD), GBI agents are investigating an officer involved shooting in Columbus, Muscogee County, GA. Jerome Marquis Willis, 33, of Columbus, GA, was shot and killed during the incident. One police officer and one K-9 officer were shot during the incident and sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Preliminary information indicates on June 23, 2026, at about 11:40 a.m., CPD officers were searching for Willis, who had been reported leaving the scene of a homicide earlier that day. CPD officers located Willis in a parking lot in the 3800 block of Baker Plaza Drive. Officers gave verbal commands to Willis, but Willis did not comply. The officers then released the K-9 officer to apprehend Willis. Willis then produced a gun, shot toward the K-9 officer, and continued to point the gun at the officers. The officers fired several shots toward Willis, hitting Willis multiple times. Willis was pronounced deceased on scene.

The CPD officer was treated at a local hospital and later released. The K-9 officer was taken to a local veterinary hospital and later life-flighted to an emergency veterinary hospital.

Willis’ body will be taken to the GBI Crime Lab where an autopsy will be conducted.

This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Columbus 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.

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