At the request of 1st Judicial District Attorney General Steve Finney, TBI agents are investigating the circumstances leading to an officer-involved shooting that occurred Tuesday afternoon in Johnson County.
At around 12:30 p.m., deputies with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office spotted a vehicle traveling along Highway 421 just outside of Mountain City that was the subject of a BOLO (Be On The Lookout) out of Watauga County, NC. Preliminary information indicates that as deputies attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver fired shots, striking a deputy. Deputies returned fire, striking and injuring the man. He was transported to an area hospital for treatment. The deputy was also transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
TBI agents are working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews. Throughout the process, investigative findings will be shared with the District Attorney General for his further review and consideration. The TBI acts solely as fact-finders in its cases and does not determine whether the actions of an officer were justified in these types of matters. That decision rests with the District Attorney General requesting TBI’s involvement.
The TBI does not identify the officers involved in these types of incidents and instead refers questions of that nature to the respective department to answer as it sees fit.
Any available updates on this investigation will be posted online at TBINewsroom.com.
TBINewsroom.com 