A Spalding County sheriff's deputy was fatally shot in the head Friday night while responding to a domestic disturbance call. The law enforcement officer identified as Sgt. Marc McIntyre was a seasoned member of the sheriff's office with 12 years of service.
According to officials, the incident happened around 11 p.m. on Deason Street in northern Spalding County. A neighbor, seeking anonymity, described to Atlanta News First how a woman residing with the suspect fled to their house to call 911 following a dispute. When deputies arrived on the scene, they were met with gunfire from the suspect, Todd Lamont Harper, shooting out of a window with a shotgun and striking McIntyre in the head.
Sheriff Darrell Dix, in a statement obtained by 11Alive, recounted the deputy's trajectory starting as a detention officer in 2015, ascending to a uniformed patrol deputy two years later, and eventually becoming a shift supervisor. During the fatal confrontation, another deputy was forced to seek cover and returned fire while McIntyre sustained a critical head injury. He was promptly transported for emergency medical care but succumbed to his injuries.
The shooter's actions led to an hours-long standoff before he was taken into custody. A community and a sheriff's office are now mourning the loss of a man who wore the badge for over a decade, and "they loved him," Dix said.
