A Warm Springs, Georgia police sergeant was shot and killed while sitting in his patrol car late Tuesday night, and by Wednesday morning a statewide manhunt had ended nearly 180 miles away on an interstate in upstate South Carolina. Sgt. Chris Fisher was ambushed at approximately 11:57 p.m. in the parking lot of the Meriwether Country Inn on Spring Street, and the man accused of killing him was found injured from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound during a traffic stop on I-85 in Anderson County the following day.
According to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation press release, Fisher was seated in his cruiser when a black 2026 Chevrolet Silverado pulled alongside his vehicle and opened fire. The GBI confirmed the wanted suspect accused of killing the officer was later found in Anderson County, South Carolina, roughly 180 miles northeast of the Warm Springs crime scene, per driving distance records compiled by Georgia Department of Transportation data. In the hours after the shooting, the GBI issued a statewide Blue Alert, an emergency protocol designed to help law enforcement rapidly locate suspects believed to have killed or seriously injured a police officer, as reported by Patch.
Traffic Stop on I-85 Ends the Chase
The alert set off a fast-moving, multi-state response. South Carolina deputies with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office initiated a traffic stop on Interstate 85 near Exit 27 around 11:39 a.m. Wednesday after locating the vehicle in which 23-year-old Jimmy Lee Steverson was riding as a passenger, according to Fox Carolina. When officers made contact with the stopped vehicle, they found Steverson suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, prompting emergency medical transport to a local hospital, per the outlet's report. No gunfire was exchanged between deputies and the suspect during the stop.
The Anderson County Coroner's Office confirmed it was responding to the scene near Exit 27, the same report noted. Fox Carolina crews were dispatched to the location as the situation unfolded Wednesday. Steverson's exact medical condition following the self-inflicted wound has not been publicly detailed, and it remains unclear who was driving the vehicle in which he was a passenger or whether that driver could face additional charges.
A Sergeant With Deep Roots in Local Law Enforcement
Fisher had only recently been promoted within the Warm Springs Police Department. He joined the department in May 2026 and was promoted to sergeant in July, having previously served with the Heard County, Fayette County, and Meriwether County Sheriff's Offices dating back to 2010, according to Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council records reported by WSB-TV. His prior years across three neighboring county sheriff's offices gave him a long history with the region's small-town policing before he arrived in Warm Springs.
Notably, Steverson had already crossed paths with local authorities just days before the shooting. Booking records reported by The Georgia Gazette show he was arrested in Meriwether County on August 28, four days before the fatal shooting, on charges including possession of marijuana, obstruction of a law enforcement officer by threats or violence, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. That timeline indicates Steverson was out on bond at the time Fisher was killed.
Massive Multi-Agency Response
The scale of the response reflected the gravity of a line-of-duty officer death. More than ten federal, state, and local agencies assisted in the manhunt and investigation, including the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Georgia State Patrol, and sheriff's offices across four Georgia counties, according to the GBI's press release.
The killing also lands amid recent turmoil for the small Warm Springs department. Former Police Chief Aisha Al-Khalifa was arrested by the GBI in May 2026 on charges of false statements and violation of oath of office stemming from an internal misconduct probe, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta. That upheaval left the department navigating a leadership shakeup in the months before Fisher's death.
A Familiar and Dangerous Stretch of Highway
The stretch of Interstate 85 running through Anderson County has proven hazardous for law enforcement before. In April 2026, a traffic stop near Exit 11 erupted in gunfire, critically wounding an Anderson County deputy and leaving a suspect dead. Wednesday's stop near Exit 27 ended without shots fired between deputies and Steverson, but it underscores the risks that come with high-stakes highway stops in the corridor. Investigators have not yet said whether formal charges have been filed against Steverson, and the case remains under investigation by the GBI.
