Interstate 75 in Cobb County turned into a crime scene during rush hour Wednesday afternoon after a Georgia State Patrol officer was shot twice by a suspect authorities say the officer was attempting to pull over for speeding.
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The driver was 26-year-old Israel Vladimir Rodriguez of Acworth, Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman Scott Dutton said.
GSP says Fields has been a trooper for three years.
Fields attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the suspect fled, leading the officer on a 10-mile chase that ended just north of Delk Road, Perry said.
The driver and Fields exchanged gunfire, but as of Wednesday afternoon, Perry said he did not know many details of the shooting, such as who shot first or whether any other officers fired their weapons. Their conditions were unknown but Jen Talaber, a spokeswoman for Gov. Nathan Deal, says the trooper was conscious.
Georgia State Police Cpt.
The G.B.I. responded to the scene at the request of Georgia State Patrol. Officials blocked off Interstate 75 South at S. Marietta Parkway for most of the night, but one lane of traffic was opened around 8:30 p.m. The interstate reopened completely around 10:30 p.m. Captain Mark Perry with the GSP said Trooper Fields’ father was a well-known GSP civilian employee. Mark Perry briefs the media outside of WellStar Kennestone Hospital following an officer-involved shooting in which the suspect and an officer were both shot on I-75 in Cobb Coun…
MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) – The Latest on a highway shooting that left a Georgia State Patrol trooper wounded and the suspect dead.
The driver of the Silverado was hit multiple times in the abdomen area and was in intensive care after undergoing surgery, Perry said.
“They were instrumental in rendering some medical attention to the trooper as well as the suspect”, Perry said. When the suspect’s vehicle was stopped, the suspect got out and shots were exchanged nearly immediately, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
The sight of the big rigs on the south-bound shoulder lanes of I-75 shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday was reminiscent of the 2014 snow and ice storm that led to motorists leaving their vehicles for a time.
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Fields is expected to recover.
