A man was fatally shot by deputies Tuesday evening after he was identified as the suspect in a deadly shooting earlier that day at a Family Dollar store in Macon, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said Catrell Tywon Ford, 43, was named as the suspect in an incident that occurred around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of Family Dollar on Jeffersonville Road. The shooting resulted in the death of Regina Darlene Smith, 56, and left a 79-year-old man critically injured.
Following the initial shooting, deputies reported that Ford fled the scene and was considered “armed and dangerous.” Law enforcement from Bibb and Jones counties, along with Georgia State Patrol, located Ford at approximately 9:45 p.m. at a convenience store near Spring Street and Riverside Drive.
“Ford was given several verbal commands to stop,” then ran over 300 yards into a wooded area on the 90 block of Spring Street, deputies said.
Two Bibb County deputies assigned to the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Taskforce “encountered Ford in the woods,” and shot him, Sgt. Christopher Williams told The Telegraph.
“There was an exchange of gunfire which left Ford mortally wounded,” deputies said.
After being shot, Ford received aid from other deputies before members of the Macon-Bibb Fire Department removed him from the area. Paramedics treated him at the scene and transported him to a medical facility where he was pronounced dead by medical staff.
Ford’s family was notified by Wednesday morning. No additional injuries were reported during these events.
The sheriff’s office has requested that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation conduct an independent review of the incident. Additionally, an internal investigation will be carried out by the sheriff’s office’s Internal Affairs Office.
Officials have asked anyone with information about either shooting to contact the sheriff’s office or Macon Regional Crimestoppers.
This story may be updated as more information becomes available.
