A Gainesville man was killed by a Hall County Sheriff's deputy Tuesday night after the man reportedly fired shots at the deputy.
Just before 9:45 p.m., a 9-1-1 caller reported a vehicle was stopped in the middle of F. Gilmer Road in Gillsville, just off Highway 52 in northeastern Hall County, according to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. A Hall County deputy went to investigate and found a man and woman standing outside of the vehicle.
The GBI said while the deputy was investigating, the man, Javier Manuel Soto, 25, pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at the deputy. At least one of the shots hit the deputy in his duty belt. The deputy returned fire multiple times, striking and killing Soto. The deputy was not injured.
The woman ran into a nearby wooded area but was found a short time later by deputies who arrived at the scene to assist in the search. She was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
The GBI will conduct an independent investigation and will give the file to the Hall County District Attorney's Office for review once the investigation is complete.
This is the 97th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate in 2022.
