GBI Investigates Officer Involved Shooting in DeKalb County

DeKalb County, GA (July 8, 2026) - At the request of the DeKalb County Police Department (DKPD), GBI agents are investigating an officer involved shooting in DeKalb County, GA. Seth Jayden Eccles, age 19, of Savannah, was shot and killed during the incident. No officers were injured.

After conferring with the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, GBI has charged the DKPD officer involved in this incident, Derrick Harris, Jr., age 37, with Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless Conduct.

Preliminary information indicates that, in the early afternoon of July 7, 2026, the DeKalb County Police Department was investigating an armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier. During the investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) agents spoke with a person of interest in the armed robbery, later identified as Eccles. After the conversation, law enforcement allowed Eccles to walk away. Law enforcement later discovered an active arrest warrant for Eccles. USPIS agents and DKPD officers again located Eccles, who then ran away and hid in the woods nearby. Law enforcement then began searching for Eccles.

At about 7:00 p.m., DeKalb County 911 began receiving calls regarding a suspicious person moving through the backyards of homes on Rammel Way in Avondale Estates, GA. At about 7:45 p.m., Officer Harris located Eccles in the backyard of a home and gave Eccles verbal commands at gunpoint. Eccles complied with Officer Harris’ commands. Officer Harris then took Eccles into custody. During the arrest, Officer Harris fired his gun, hitting Eccles. DKPD officers and EMS provided life-saving efforts on scene. Eccles was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

Eccles will be taken to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

Once Harris is in custody, he will be booked into the DeKalb County Jail.

The GBI will continue to conduct an independent investigation. Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be turned over to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution and review.