Shooting of Buford man at sports bars appears to be self defense

FLOWERY BRANCH - For now, no charges will be filed in the shooting death of a Buford man at a Flowery Branch sports bar over the weekend.

Flowery Branch Police Chief David Spillers released the name of the shooter in the incident Monday afternoon, saying it appears at this point as if Dustin Cody Holcombe of Homer was acting in self defense when he shot Donald Lee Battle, Jr. of Buford.

"What we see has happened is that Mr. Battle confronted Mr. Holcombe. Mr. Battle was armed with a fire arm and approached Mr. Holcombe in a threatening manner, speaking with a threatening tone, pointing the fire arm at Mr. Holcombe and [his] date," said Spillers.

Spillers said Holcombe told investigators he retrieved a gun from his vehicle and shot Battle in order to defend himself and his date after Battle approached them in the parking lot of The Branch House Tavern.

Spillers said Flowery Branch investigators were able to determine consistencies between witness statements, evidence gathered at the scene of the shooting and video evidence that lead them to conclude the shooting was an act of self defense.

"There was no evidence observed on the video footage from the tavern of the two men exchanging words, having any sort of conflict," said Spillers. "That I know of at this point, we've not been able to see that they even exchanged glances while they were inside the establishment. All of this unfolded as they were leaving and going in to the parking lot."

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation assisted with processing of the crime scene.

Results of the investigation by Flowery Branch police and the GBI will be turned over to the Hall County District Attorney's office.