A suspect has been captured a day after a Middle Georgia police officer was shot and killed outside of the police station where he worked, according to the GBI.
Damien Anthony Ferguson, who was sought in connection with the death of 26-year-old Dylan Harrison, was taken into custody, the GBI said in a tweet on Sunday. No other details were immediately available.
Police had been searching for Ferguson since the officer was gunned down outside the Alamo Police Department about 1 a.m. Saturday, officials said. Harrison was working his first shift as a part-time officer with the department at the time of his death.
Harrison, who lived in Laurens County, is survived by his wife and their 6-month-old son, officials said.
The exact details of the fatal shooting were not released, but it resulted in a massive manhunt.
The GBI issued a “Blue Alert” for the 43-year-old man and offered a $17,500 reward for his capture. Such alerts are issued when a suspect accused of killing or seriously injuring a law enforcement officer remains at large.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety said Ferguson was taken into custody “without incident” less than one mile from the site of the fatal shooting. In a tweet, the agency said a SWAT team located him using intel from the GBI and U.S. Marshals.
The GBI was expected to issue more information on the shooting and subsequent arrest at the Wheeler Courthouse on Sunday.
Ferguson spent more than seven years in prison after being convicted of charges including theft by taking and aggravated assault on an officer in Wheeler County. He was released from the Coffee Correctional Facility in August 2006, Georgia Department of Corrections records show.
