The Georgia Bureau of Investigations said Friday that a man allegedly threatened a Banks County Deputy with a hatchet before being shot multiple times Thursday afternoon.
According to investigators, the unidentified sheriff's deputy was traveling northbound on Highway 441 in an unmarked car when a truck driven by Eric Edward Webb, 43, of Franklin, NC, sped past him.
The incident occurred near the intersection of Highway 441 and Shady Grove Road, roughly 4 miles north of downtown Homer.
"The deputy flashed his emergency lights. At that moment, the truck, which was also towing a small trailer, swerved into the deputy’s lane," the GBI said.
The vehicles did not collide, but both left the highway, eventually coming to rest on an embankment. Investigators say Webb got out of his truck "with a hatchet in his hand."
"Webb began beating on the deputy’s driver’s side window with the hatchet, breaking the glass," according to a press release. "The deputy fired at Webb while still seated inside his SUV, striking him multiple times."
Officials said Webb is being treated in a local hospital. According to the GBI, this is the 39th officer-involved shooting they have investigated in 2022.
