BUFORD, Ga. (AP) -- A park ranger has undergone surgery after being shot Wednesday at Lake Lanier by a woman who apparently committed suicide, officials said.
The ranger, D.P.Wright, 70, who was not armed, was preparing to close the Lower Overlook area of the park around 10:00 PM. As he was driving through the parking lot in his marked park ranger pickup truck, he noticed a woman sitting in a passenger car.
Wright said he approached the car to notify her that the park was closed. The woman, identified as Qiana Moore, 34, of Woodstock, produced a handgun and fired one shot, striking Wright in the abdomen.
"He was approaching this vehicle with the intention of just saying, `Hey, the park is closed, and you need to go,'" Gwinnett Police Cpl. Jake Smith said. "And there was no kind of confrontation or argument or anything like that between the two of them. She simply produced the gun and shot him one time."
Wright escaped on foot towards the entrance of the Lower Overlook area. He secured the gate behind him, closing off the only exit to prevent Moore's escape.
Wright then made his way onto Buford Dam Road where a passing motorist stopped and called 911.
Smith said investigators believe Moore committed suicide.
Ranger Wright was taken to a local hospital for surgery. His condition was not immediately available.
Rangers at the park are not armed and do not wear bulletproof vests, Smith said.
Tuesday
May 20th, 2025
10:47PM
