Suspects wounded in shootout with sheriff’s deputies

Two people were injured Tuesday afternoon after exchanging gunfire with deputies in Barrow County, the GBI said.

The shooting happened after a 16-minute chase that started on Atlanta Highway and ended on Parks Mill Road, GBI Special Agent Mike Ayers told AJC.com. A pickup truck did not stop after a deputy tried to pull it over for failure to maintain lane, Ayers said.

He said a Barrow County sheriff’s deputy stopped the truck using a PIT maneuver, a tactic where a police car hits the back corner of a fleeing vehicle to make it swerve and stop.

“This was a potentially very hazardous situation, very violent situation,” Ayers told reporters at the scene, according to Channel 2 Action News.

The news station reported that one of the three people in the truck fired the first shot at the five deputies.

Two of the people in the vehicle were shot and suffered injuries.

A neighbor told Channel 2 she heard six gunshots.

The two people wounded are being treated for injuries that are not considered life-threatening, Ayers said. The third person is in custody.

No officers were injured.

The GBI was called to investigate, which is protocol for officer-involved shootings. Crews blocked the road while the black pickup truck sat in the brush on the side of the road.

“At this point we probably have more questions than answers,” Ayers said.

Ayers said investigators could see a firearm in the truck.