SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — The moments after a suspect in Spalding County fired shots that later killed a deputy, injuring another can be heard in scanner traffic audio released on Friday.
It all unfolded on Dec. 29 when two Spalding County Sheriff's Office deputies were sent out to a home in Griffin near Deason Street and Vineyard Road. When they arrived, Spalding County Sherriff Darrell Dix said the two were shot at from a window while walking across the yard.
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Sgt. Marc McIntyre was shot in the head, while the other was forced to take cover and returned fire. Additional responding officers were able to retrieve McIntyre and get him transported for emergency medical care; he later died of a critical injury to his head.
In the recording, a dispatcher is heard stating that an officer was involved in a shooting and that shots were fired in the area. The second deputy is then heard telling the dispatcher that McIntyre is on the ground.
"Shot came out of the third window in the backside of the house. He chucked the barrel of the weapon out after he shot," The second deputy, working alongside McIntyre, said. "I returned shots."
The recording continues with the deputy pleading for more assistance and ends with the dispatcher saying that "the helicopter is on the way.
Listen to the recording below.
MORE ABOUT THE CASE
Two deputies responded to a 911 call reporting a domestic incident at a home in Griffin. When they arrived and crossed the yard, deputies said, Todd Harper, a 57-year-old military veteran, fired at them from a window with a shotgun.
Sgt. Marc McIntyre was shot in the head and later died from the critical injury, while the second deputy suffered a broken hand.
Dix said Harper's wife had called 911, reporting that he had threatened her, leading to the confrontation. Deputies had been to Harper's house multiple times before, including a previous incident in January 2021 where he barricaded himself but didn't fire shots, adding that he had a history of mental health struggles.
Dix said McIntyre was a military veteran who was a supervisor for other deputies and had been with the sheriff's office for roughly 12 years.
Sheriff Dix added he was one who "definitely led by example." He said he believed McIntyre had served in the Army in Iraq.
Dix said he hadn't yet spoken to the other deputy - also a military veteran - who was on scene and survived the shooting, but that he'd been told the other deputy was devastated.
"To see your supervisor get shot steps away from you and seeing him laying on the ground and you can't get to him because you're taking gunfire is a horrible thing for any person or any law enforcement officer to have to see," Dix said.
The sheriff said on Friday afternoon that McIntyre's body was taken to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy and that Georgia State Patrol, Clayton County law enforcement and Spalding deputies will be part of the escort.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now investigating the shooting.