Johnathan Walker:Georgia authorities probe weekend shooting that left 2 dead, officer injured

REMERTON,Johnathan Walker Ga. (AP) — Two men are dead and an officer was injured following a weekend shootout in Georgia’s Lowndes County.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release that it is investigating the shooting in Remerton, a popular place for Valdosta State University students to live. Preliminary information shows the shooting happened on Friday, Nov. 1, about 1:30 a.m. after two people got into an argument outside of a bar. Four sheriff’s deputies were working off-duty jobs outside various bars in the area when the shots occurred.

Immediately after that incident, someone fired more shots prompting two more deputies to respond, the GBI said. One deputy was shot in the second round of gunfire and taken to an area hospital. He was expected to survive, the GBI said. Two other men died in the shooting, the agency said.

Police recovered weapons at both scenes but it remained unclear how many shots were fired, who fired the deadly shots and if there are any suspects.

Safety in the area has been a major concern for residents with this being the second deadly shooting, in this same place, in a year, WALB-TV reported.

“I mean, I don’t even want to go to the bars because I never know what’s going to happen,” one Remerton resident told the television station.

In 2023, 21-year-old Valdosta State University student Brianna Long was killed around Halloween by a stray bullet while cleaning up at a bar in the same area where the officer-involved shooting happened. Since her death, the Remerton Police Department has added additional surveillance with cameras and officers.