COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — There is a sense of shock and sadness in a Coweta County community over the death of a sheriff's deputy.
Palmetto police Chief Bryan Hergesell told Channel 2's Alyssa Hyman late Tuesday night that an off-duty deputy was shot and killed after a family fight at a home on Snowfall Terrace.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the deputy as 25-year-old Edmond Irvin. His 17-year-old cousin Danny Long has been arrested for his death.
Sheriff Lenn Wood told Channel 2 Action News the deputy and his cousin were in the back of their family house arguing.
Neighbors told Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach the deputy and his fiancée, who is pregnant, had been staying at the home the last few weeks.
Lisa Hernandez is one neighbor who heard the gunshots around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“It sounded like, ‘Pow! Pow!'" Hernandez said.
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Neighbors said Long threatened to kill everyone in the house before they heard gunshots. They said moments later, the teen took off.
“Him approaching my mailbox and telling me to get, you-know-what, in my yard. I said, ‘Excuse me? I’m in my yard,’ then he took off running,” Hernandez said.
Long ran more than three miles before he was caught near the Collinsworth Road exit -- right off Interstate 85.
“I think it’s sad. Don’t know what the reason was, but it was wrong,” Hernandez said.
After his arrest, Long was transported to the Fayette County Jail and charged with murder and making terroristic threats.
The big question now is the motive. The GBI is assisting local law enforcement in the investigation.