Undercover agents shoot, kill drug trafficking suspect trying to run them over, deputies say

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A man suspected of trafficking heroin and fentanyl is dead following a shooting involving undercover narcotics officers.

Agents with the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad were doing an undercover operation around 7:30 p.m. Monday in the parking lot of the Walmart store along Holly Springs Parkway in Holly Springs.

Deputies said as they approached the man they were tracking, he got into his car and tried to speed away.

Cherokee County investigators said the man rammed his car into a patrol vehicle and started driving toward agents when they opened fire on the man.

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The man was hit but sped away from the Walmart store and started heading north on Highway 5. Investigators said the man hit a guardrail before jumping onto an exit ramp to Interstate 575, driving in the wrong direction along the interstate.

Deputies said the man hit two other vehicles before his car eventually stopped. The suspect was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where he died from his injuries. His identity has not been released.

A Channel 2 Action News viewer tweeted photos showing a large police presence in the store’s parking lot.

Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston talked to police, who said that it’s common that criminals want to surrender to police in public parking lots.

“That’s where the suspects want them to happen, to be honest with you,” one officer said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that is has been called in to investigate the shooting.

This is the 60th officer involved shooting the GBI has been requested to investigate in 2022.

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