LITHONIA — The Lithonia man who shot two DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office deputies this morning has been killed after engaging in gunfire with law enforcement tactical units that were attempting to arrest him.
Several metro law enforcement agencies joined the DeKalb Sheriff’s Office in pursuit of 38 year-old Edward Allen Gatling today in areas adjacent to the Wellington Circle home where deputies had gone earlier today to serve an arrest warrant for Aggravated Assault with Attempt to Murder.
During the encounter, sheriff’s office officials say Gatling shot and injured the deputies then fled the scene. A multi-agency dragnet began, as the public was alerted, and neighborhood traffic was diverted.
The tactical units located Gatling in a wooded area near Covington Highway and Phillips Road.
Gatling was fatally wounded in the exchange of gunfire. No other officers were injured. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called to the scene and will investigate the incident.
The injured deputies are Deputy Ja’rad Hunt and Deputy Aaron Jackson. Both were transported first to nearby DeKalb Medical Center at Hillandale and later to Grady Hospital, where their conditions are considered stable.
According to the arrest warrant, Gatling was accused of shooting Lithonia resident Davey Caviness several times with a high-powered rifle on Oct. 14 following an altercation at a business on DeKalb Industrial Boulevard.
The sheriff’s office was assisted in its pursuit by law enforcement agencies in DeKalb County, Stone Mountain, Gwinnett County, Henry County, Fulton County, Rockdale County, Forsyth County, the City of Atlanta, the City of Clarkston, ATF, GEMA, Homeland Security, the DeKalb and U.S. Marshal’s Offices, and by the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
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