LEXINGTON - Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials are releasing more details about a rampage by an armed gunman in Oglethorpe County Monday afternoon.
In a prepared statement, GBI officials said they responded to a request for assistance from the Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office regarding investigation of an incident that began as a barricaded gunman and culminated in a vehicle chase where gunfire was exchanged with officers.
GBI officials identified the individual involved as 23-year-old Ryan Edgar Arnold, saying Arnold had been involved in a domestic disturbance at a home in Oglethorpe County earlier.
When deputies arrived at the initial incident, Arnold ran away while firing a weapon into the air.
Deputies returned to the home on Monday and found that Arnold apparently had barricaded himself inside. He was able to flee before officers could secure a full perimeter around the home.
Around 1 p.m. Monday, as members of the Georgia State Patrol tactical team prepared to move in, deputies and troopers from GSP located Arnold in his vehicle and he fled.
"During the pursuit, Arnold dumped a female onto the roadway and continued to flee authorities," the GBI statement reads. "Officers stopped and rendered aid to the female as other officers continued in the chase. The victim was alive and was transported to an area hospital for treatment. As the chase continued, Arnold exchanged gunfire with law enforcement, fleeing from police into a wooded area where he abandoned his vehicle."
Several 9-1-1 calls were received by Oglethorpe County 9-1-1 dispatchers, who directed officers to a nearby logging area.
There, offiicers encountered Arnold, who was in a stolen 18-wheel loaded log truck.
Georgia State Patrol officials earlier said Arnold commandeered the truck at gunpoint and forced the driver to head toward patrol cars that were intended to block his escape.
As the suspect opened fire again, officers abandoned their cars and took cover.
When the hostage apparently didn't comply with Arnold's order to ram the patrol cars, he was shot multiple times. The log truck rammed the patrol cars, damaging four law enforcement vehicles and one civilian vehicle, GSP confirmed.
Arnold suffered a gunshot wound and was taken into custody, then was transported by ambulance to Athens Regional Medical Center.
After Arnold was taken into custody, officers located the hostage alive but suffering from gunshot wounds.That hostage was identified Tuesday afternoon as 58-year-old Paul Donald Davis.
Davis was airlifted to Athens Regional Medical Center, where he remained Tuesday afternoon.
No officers were injured during the incidents.
That pregnant female who was pushed from the truck was identified Tuesday afternoon as 23-year-old Hayley Nicole Hill. GBI officials report Hill reportedly had been in a relationship with Arnold at the time of the shooting.
Hill's child was delivered and was pronounced dead upon delivery at the hospital Monday night. The GBI Medical Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
"The GBI investigation is ongoing and the facts continue to evolve," the statement reads. "The details provided are preliminary. There are more interviews and crime scene examinations to be done before the investigation is complete. A clearer picture as to what happened will take time. The GBI will conduct a thorough and independent investigation and formal charges will be filed against Arnold. The completed investigation will be turned over to the district attorney’s office for further action."
The Georgia Department of Public Safety Office of Professional Standards also is investigating.
GBI officials said at this time, there is no known connection between Davis and Arnold.
Agencies involved in the incident included the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office, Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia State Patrol.
By telephone Tuesday afternoon, Special Agent in Charge Mike Ayers of the GBI Region 11 office in Athens said information contained in the two written statements is all the information GBI can release at this time.
There are no plans for additional news releases on the case, a spokesman at GBI headquarters reported Tuesday afternoon.
AccessWDUN first reported the story after confirming it with GSP officials at 12:43 p.m. Tuesday.
