MARIETTA, Ga. – Two Cobb County Sheriff’s deputies were killed in the line of duty Thursday night. The sheriff’s office says they were shot while serving a warrant at a home in the Marietta area. Two people were taken into custody after a nearly four-hour standoff.
Cobb County Deputies ‘Ambushed and Killed’ Service Warrants
Shortly after 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, Cobb County deputies knocked on the door of a home at the corner of Hampton Glen Court and Fenwick Drive just west of Marietta. “From my understanding, deputies had made an attempt at the home, they knocked on the door, they rang the doorbell, no one came to the home,” Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens said. “As they were returning to their car, the vehicle pulled up and they assumed it was the suspect who was living there and as they were returning to the car as he got into his car shots were fired.” It was around 7:48 p.m. when dispatchers first received a report that something was amiss. The sheriff says deputies were able to radio the shots to dispatchers. “We have an officer down,” a dispatcher radioed. A series of identifications quickly followed by police officers who rushed to the scene. Minutes later, firefighters and medics were dispatched as law enforcement began arriving on the scene. “The shooter is still inside. We don’t have information on the perimeter yet,” the dispatcher was heard saying. Sheriff Owens says it wasn’t immediately clear if both were in the vehicle or if one of the suspects was already inside the home, but what he does know is how his deputies were killed. “My two deputies were ambushed and killed,” said Sheriff Owens.
March for Fallen Cobb County Deputies
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies escorted the body of two Cobb County deputies who were killed in the line of duty while serving a warrant at a Marietta-area home. Around 8 p.m., FOX 5 viewers reported seeing two ambulances accompanied by a large line of police cruisers heading to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital. Deputies and officers from several agencies gathered outside waiting to get any word on the condition of the injured deputies. The grim news broke just before 9pm that both MPs had succumbed to their injuries. Their names have not been released.
The Hampton Glen neighborhood was locked down during the standoff
Damon Gander, who lives in the Hampton Glen subdivision, says his wife was home when the shooting happened, but didn’t think much of it at first. “She heard what she thought were fireworks, which is not unusual for our neighborhood, especially during the summer, and she really didn’t pay attention until her girlfriend called her and said, ‘Hey guys, how are you?’ Then he started looking outside and that’s when he noticed everything,” Gunter said. Gunter was met by an army of law enforcement officers who lined up at Irwin and John Ward streets at the roundabout just southeast of Cheatham Hill Elementary School. All traffic in the immediate area was reversed or rerouted. “The last thing I’m looking forward to tonight. I was looking forward to getting home from work, taking a shower and getting ready for work tomorrow,” he said. Investigators comb the area where two Cobb County deputies were killed in an “ambush” while trying to serve a warrant on Sept. 8, 2022. (FOX 5) An officer told Gunter that it might not be until sunrise when he would be allowed into his neighborhood. Meanwhile, inside the couple’s home, his wife described the surreal situation. “It’s like a movie. It’s like sitting and watching a movie. Instead of the TV, it’s out the window,” Gunter said, relaying what his wife explained. He told his wife to make sure she was on the opposite side of their house, away from the action.
Cobb County standoff ends ‘peacefully’
The sheriff’s office says SWAT and FAST teams were deployed to the home after the suspects entered the home. Around 11 p.m., residents say they heard commotion coming from the house. They heard orders from deputies to surrender the suspects. Some reported seeing smoke coming from the house. The sheriff says the suspects eventually “got out peacefully.” “Nothing that I have been told thus far has led me to believe that there were any violations or altercations with them during the period of the arrest,” the sheriff said. Roads leading into the subdivision were reopened around 1 a.m. Friday, and a section of the subdivision was cleared half an hour later. Investigators still cordoned off the intersection where the shooting occurred with the crime scene stretching for at least a block.
What is known about the suspects in the deaths of two Cobb County deputies?
The two suspects were taken into custody by the Cobb County Sheriff’s Department, which will be leading the investigation. They were taken to the Police for questioning. The sheriff could not say if the suspects lived at the home. He also did not release their names or ages. What is known is that at least one of them is wanted for failure to appear for theft by deception. The sheriff says this type of violence never needed to happen. “We have to do something about these guns on the street, so whatever we can do to prevent gun violence, as you can see, it affects us here in Cobb and it affects everybody across the entire United States of America,” he said. “Surely we have to do something about it.”
Who were the two deputies killed in Cobb County?
Sheriff Owens, during an early morning news conference Friday, began by asking for a moment of silence. “It’s a sad night, this evening, for the citizens of Cobb County and for the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office and for law enforcement at home,” the sheriff said. “More than that, it’s a heartbreaking night for two families from the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, two husbands who lost their amazing husbands.” While the sheriff did not release the names of the deputies, he called them “two bright young deputies” who served with “dignity and honor.” The deputies are the first two law enforcement officers killed in a shooting in Georgia this year and the first on-duty deaths since the sheriff took office 18 months ago. The sheriff says both deputies have been with the sheriff’s office for essentially more than five years.
Outpouring of support after the fatal shooting of deputies
Sheriff Owens was flanked early Friday morning by nearly a dozen different agencies arriving at his office. “Our hearts are definitely broken here in Cobb County. It’s going to take some prayers to help us get back to where we need to be,” the sheriff said. “And because of the people you see behind me today, I think we’ll be able to get through it, but it won’t be an easy road.” The sheriff listed police chiefs and sheriffs in metro Atlanta who have extended offers of support and assistance. “What words can you say when you lose a family member,” the sheriff said. “And these words are not easy. But speaking straight from the heart just pray for us because we need it.” “Our condolences go out to Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens and the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office following the loss of two deputies tonight in the line of duty,” the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said on Twitter. It was a sentiment echoed on social media by several other law enforcement agencies in Georgia after receiving the news. The sheriff said his agency had received calls from across the state, including the governor’s office. “Again, it’s a very difficult time for us, but I think when one agency loses somebody, we all lose somebody,” the sheriff said. “And I think every sheriff and every chief can attest to that when this tragedy hurts our community, it hurts their community.” The sheriff says they are working to provide comfort to the families of the deputies. This story is developing. Check back for details. If you have additional information, photos or videos email [email protected].
