Two Georgia deputies fatally shot while they attempted to serve arrest warrant

A pair of deputies were “ambushed” and killed as they attempted to serve a warrant at a home in Georgia, police said.

The Cobb County deputies arrived at the door of a Marietta-area residence on Thursday just after 7:45 p.m., Sheriff Craig D. Owens said in a press conference. The officers were there to present a warrant for failure to appear for theft by deception.

The deputies knocked on the door and rang the doorbell several times, but didn’t get a response. Owens said that just as they were getting inside their cruiser to leave, another vehicle pulled up to the home, which the deputies assumed belonged to the suspect. The minute they moved away from their own vehicle, gunfire erupted.

“What I can tell you in this moment is this — in plain terms, it’s very simple,” Owens said late Thursday. “My two deputies were ambushed this evening and killed.”

It’s not clear whether the deputies returned fire, but Owens said they did manage to radio in the violence.

The names of the officers, who have both served for at least five years, won’t be released until families are notified.

“It is a night of heartache for two families from the Cobb sheriffs office, two wives who have lost their amazing husbands,” the sheriff said. “These two deputies served Cobb County with dignity and honor.”

Two suspects were arrested in connection with the incident. One of them barricaded themselves after the shooting, but ultimately surrendered peacefully after several hours of negotiation, the sheriffs office said in a tweet.

The suspects have not been identified.