Published Saturday, October 9th, 2021 | 7:20 pm
Updated 1 hour, 40 minutes ago
ALAMO, Georgia (AP) – A Georgia police officer was shot dead outside a police station early Saturday during his first shift with the division, authorities said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said 26-year-old police officer Dylan Harrison was fatally shot by Damien Anthony Ferguson outside the Alamo Police Department. Ferguson, 43, stayed in the casual Saturday night despite the start of a large manhunt.
Officials did not immediately say what started the shooting in Wheeler County, about 90 miles southeast of Macon.
“Officer Harrison was a part-time Alamo officer who was on his first shift with the department last night,” GBI spokeswoman Natalie Ammons said during a press conference, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She said Harrison was also a full-time agent with the Oconee Drug Task Force in nearby Dodge County.
Tributes poured in for Harrison, who lived in Laurens County and was survived by his wife and 6-month-old son.
“Our righteous thoughts, prayers, and condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of Officer Dylan Harrison, who was killed on duty in the Alamo last night,” Telfair County Sheriff Sim Davidson wrote on a Facebook post. “We are wholeheartedly grateful to him for his services.”
Harrison was the first Alamo officer killed on duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, who tracks deaths from law enforcement agencies. In January, Alamo police officer Arturo Villegas died of COVID-19 complications.
Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia Department of Public Safety have tweeted their condolences to the officer’s family and colleagues on the social media site Twitter.
“May God continue to be with all who protect and serve,” wrote Kemp.
At least five Georgia officials have been killed on duty this year, and nearly two dozen more have died of COVID-19, according to the memorial site. In 2020, seven Georgia officers were killed on duty.
