Two sheriff's deputies shot during pursuit in Bibb County, district attorney says

Authorities are searching for a 26-year-old man suspected of shooting two Bibb County deputies Wednesday afternoon.

The sheriff's deputies were shot during a pursuit, said District Attorney Michael Jackson. 

Jackson said officers were chasing a vehicle that had been reported stolen when the suspect opened fire, injuring both deputies.

Authorities have not revealed the extent of the deputies' injuries.

The shooting occurred around 5 p.m., according to the Centreville Press.

Deadly Holt house fire:Man charged with capital murder in Holt house fire that killed two people

Tuscaloosa veteran held in Ukraine:Mom of Tuscaloosa veteran held in Ukraine speaks to son by phone

A large manhunt now is underway in Bibb County in an effort to find the shooting suspect identified as Austin Patrick Hall, 26. Authorities say Hall was on foot after shooting the two deputies on Golfer's Trail in Brierfield.

Officials at Centreville City Hall alerted the public about the shooting and reported the manhunt in a Facebook post, stating residents in Brierfield and surrounding areas, such as Golfer's Trail, Bibb County Road 10 and Alabama Highway 25, should be on alert for an "armed and dangerous suspect."

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency also issued an alert warning the public that Hall “is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous” while asking that anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 911.

Sgt. Jeremy J. Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said that as of 8 p.m. Wednesday the manhunt involving the State Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and 14 other police, sheriff’s offices and state agencies was underway for Hall ,who was last seen near the Cahaba Wildlife Management area along Alabama Highway 25 and Golfer's Trail in Bibb County.

According to court records, Hall has an extensive criminal history dating back more than a decade.

In 2019, The Associated Press reported that a search was launched after he escaped from a state work release center.

The Alabama Department of Corrections said that Hall, then 24, escaped from custody at the Camden Work Release Center, located about 40 miles south of Selma, on the evening of Oct. 6, 2019. 

At the time, Hall was serving more than nine years on a property theft conviction.

And in 2014, Hall was one of two men arrested by Tuscaloosa police and suspected of being responsible for several property crimes that were reported in May of that year near the area of Interstate 20/59 and James I. Harrison Parkway.

Current Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley, then a sergeant serving as the police department's spokesman, said Hall, of Clanton, and a Duncanville man were arrested after a woman reported seeing two men breaking into a car in the 200 block of 36th Street East.

Hall was charged in that incident with three counts of breaking and entering a vehicle, one count of first-degree burglary and one count of first-degree possession of marijuana, police said.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.