Suspect in Georgia Cop Killing is Dead, Investigators Say

Georgia Bureau of Investigation(AMERICUS, Ga.) — The man who allegedly shot two police officers in Georgia, killing one and critically wounding the other, is now dead, authorities said.

A spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told ABC News Thursday afternoon that the suspect, identified as 32-year-old Minquell Kennedy Lembrick, is deceased. It was not immediately clear how Lembrick had died.

Investigators said Lembrick was wanted in connection to a shooting that happened Wednesday morning around 9:40 a.m. local time at an apartment complex in Americus, near the Georgia Southwestern State University campus.

Officer Nicholas Ryan Smarr with the Americus Police Department and Officer Jodi Smith with the Georgia Southwestern State University Police Department were simultaneously responding to a 911 call regarding a domestic dispute at the complex on South Lee Street when they encountered the suspect and shots were fired, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Smarr, 25, died from gunshot wounds Thursday morning. Smith was airlifted to an area trauma center, where police said he is in critical but stable condition.

“It’s a tragedy beyond words,” Chief Scott said. “It’s one of our family members [who] has been taken from us.”

The officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, but it’s unknown whether he was struck. Lembrick remained at large and was considered to be armed and dangerous until Thursday afternoon when investigators confirmed his death.

Prior to Wednesday’s domestic dispute call, police said Lembrick was wanted on kidnapping charges and others from a previous domestic incident.

Earlier, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were offering a $70,000 reward for information leading to Lembrick’s arrest. Police believed Lembrick was still in the Americus area and urged the man to turn himself in without conflict.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation director Vernon Keenan said about 30 of their agents along with 20 other law enforcement agencies worked through the night looking for the suspect.

Georgia Southwestern University was put on lockdown while investigators searched nearby for Lembrick. No students were involved or endangered in the shooting, according to a university spokesman.

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