GBI releases new details in officer-involved shooting following fatal Dollar General homicide
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- GBI releases details on officer-involved shooting that killed homicide suspect Jerome Willis; police officer and K-9 injured.
- Willis fired at K-9 officer during arrest attempt for Dollar General homicide; officers returned fire, fatally striking him.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has released new details regarding an officer-involved shooting that left a homicide suspect dead and injured a Columbus police officer and K-9 officer.
According to the GBI, Columbus Police Department officers were searching for 33-year-old Jerome Marquis Willis of Columbus around 11:40 a.m. on June 23 after he was reported to have fled the scene of a homicide earlier that morning.
Investigators say officers located Willis in a parking lot in the 3800 block of Baker Plaza Drive. Officers gave Willis verbal commands, but he did not comply. A police K-9 was then deployed to apprehend him.
The GBI said Willis produced a firearm and fired toward the K-9 officer. Willis then continued pointing the gun at officers, prompting officers to fire several shots. Willis was struck multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
During the incident, one Columbus police officer and the K-9 officer were shot. Both sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The officer was treated at a local hospital and later released.
The injured K-9 was initially taken to a local veterinary hospital before being life-flighted to an emergency veterinary hospital for additional treatment.
Willis was identified Tuesday by Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan as the suspect in the fatal shooting of 44-year-old Alexis Hill at the Dollar General on Victory Drive earlier that day.
Willis’ body will be transported to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy.
The GBI is conducting an independent investigation into the officer-involved shooting. Once completed, the case file will be turned over to the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.
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).
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