Man suspected of killing police officer in Georgia dead after days-long manhunt, cops say

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer Saturday in Georgia was killed Monday in a confrontation with police, authorities said.

Police believe Tafahree Maynard, 18, killed Officer Antwan Toney as the officer was checking out a suspicious vehicle near a metro Atlanta middle school on Saturday.

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Here are the latest updates:

Update 12:50 p.m. EDT Oct. 22: The man accused of killing a Gwinnett police officer was found hiding in a wooden shed wielding a lawn mower blade and was shot and killed after he refused to obey police commands, authorities said.

After receiving information from a tipster on Tafahree Maynard whereabouts, 75-90 police officers descended on a neighborhood in unincorporated Snellville, set up a perimeter and went house to house, Gwinnett Police Chief Butch Ayers said at a press briefing.

After finding Maynard, police initially used a Taser. They shot after determining he had the mower blade.

"The danger to the community is over," Ayers said.

Update 11:35 a.m. EDT Oct. 22: Officials told WSBTV on Monday that Maynard, the man accused of shooting and killing a Gwinnett County police officer Saturday, is dead.

Sources had earlier told the news station that Maynard was located Monday in Gwinnett County.

Update 11:20 a.m. EDT Oct. 22: Sources told WSBTV's Gwinnett Bureau Chief Tony Thomas that Maynard was located Monday morning.

Police earlier said Maynard, who is suspected of firing the shots that killed Toney, "should be considered armed and dangerous."

Update 9:45 a.m. EDT Oct. 22: Gwinnett County police said Monday that there had been a "credible sighting" within the last 12 hours of Tafahree Maynard, the 18-year-old suspected of shooting and killing Officer Antwan Toney on Saturday.

Police previously warned that Maynard "should be considered armed and dangerous."

Update 8:45 p.m. EDT Oct. 21: Gwinnett County authorities have taken three people into custody in connection with the fatal shooting of Officer Antwan Toney Saturday in Snellville.

Investigators said the three are not under arrest, but were taken into custody during a search of a home Sunday near the scene of the shooting.

The main suspect, Tafahree Maynard, 18, is still on the loose and considered armed and dangerous.

“It’s very important just for the safety of the area, for the peace of mind of the public and the officers here at the department, we would like to take him into custody,” a police spokesman said.

“We’d encourage him to turn himself in. We can guarantee his safety, if he just turns himself in.”

There’s a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Maynard.

Update 9:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 21: A new mugshot was released of Isaiah Pretlow, now in custody in the shooting death of a Gwinnett County police officer. Tafahree Maynard, believed by police to have fired the shot that killed Officer Antwan Toney, remains at large.

Update 6:17 a.m. EDT Oct. 21: Gwinnett County police announced early Sunday that one suspect is in custody in the shooting death of a Gwinnett County police officer Saturday. Another suspect is still on the run.

Isaiah Pretlow is in custody and charged with aggravated assault in connection with the shooting death of Officer Antwan Toney. He's accused of pointing a gun at an officer during the manhunt.

Tafahree Maynard, who police believe fired the shot that killed Toney, is still on the run, authorities said. Police are encouraging Maynard to turn himself in. Although police originally said they thought up to four suspects were involved, they said Sunday morning that Pretlow and Maynard are the only suspects.

Late Saturday, WSB-TV's Rikki Klaus was on Cordite Loop, where police waited for a warrant to search the home. It's unclear if Pretlow was arrested at the home.

Toney, 30, was shot while responding to a suspicious vehicle parked near Shiloh Middle School in unincorporated Snellville on Saturday afternoon, police said. The car was parking at Crumps Landing Road and White Road.

Gwinnett County Sgt. Jake Smith said in a news conference that someone reported the vehicle and that the people inside may have been smoking marijuana.

Toney and another officer approached the vehicle, and that's when someone started shooting from inside the car, authorities said.

"Before they could even get to the vehicle, shots rang out," Smith said.

Police returned fire as an officer dragged Toney away.

Toney was rushed to Gwinnett Medical Center in critical condition where he died, officials said.

The two-year veteran was just days from celebrating his third anniversary with the department on Oct. 26.

Smith said that "99.999 percent" of the time, routine calls don't end up in gunfire.

“That it went this way, it’s just tragic,” Smith said.

The suspects sped away and crashed the vehicle on Ross Road and Calumet Farm Lane less than a mile from the shooting scene, got out of the car and ran, authorities said. Police originally said witnesses reported seeing up to four people run away.

On Saturday night, the car was towed to police headquarters.

Gwinnett County police have opened a new 24-hour tipline and are asking for the public's help to learn more about the shooting. They are asking anyone with information to call 770-513-5710.

It's the first time an officer has been killed in Gwinnett County since

Original report: A police officer in Gwinnett County, Georgia, checking out a suspicious vehicle near a Snellville-area middle school, was shot and killed Saturday as the car sped away. Four suspects were on the run Saturday night.

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The officer, Antwan Toney, died after he was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center, according to the police department. He had been on the Gwinnett police force for three years.

Toney and other officers were responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked near Shiloh Middle School on Saturday afternoon, police said.

When officers approached, the suspects fired through their vehicle’s window, hitting Toney before driving off, said police spokesman Jake Smith. The officers returned fire, but it’s unknown whether the suspects were hit or injured.

The suspects crashed their vehicle a short time later, and as many as four people ran from the scene.

Law enforcement officers, helicopters, SWAT teams and K-9 units swarmed the area to search for the suspects, checking nearby buildings and wooded areas. DeKalb County police were called in to help.

A witness described one of the suspects to police as a 6-foot-tall man with long dreadlocks, green sweatpants and a gray T-shirt. Descriptions of the other suspects weren’t available.

Toney was a member of the Gwinnett Police Department’s Uniform Division, and he was working his shift on patrol Saturday.

Toney is the first Gwinnett officer killed in the line of duty in years.

In 1993, Officer Chris Magill was killed by a drunk driver while engaged in a traffic stop with another drunk driver.

Three Gwinnett officers were gunned down in 1964 when they were investigating a "suspicious activity" call near Norcross. The officers — Jerry Everett, Marvin Gravitt and Ralph Davis — were handcuffed together and shot with their own weapons.

Saturday's shooting came after three separate officer-involved shootings in Georgia on Thursday that left two men dead.

In one of the previous shootings, a state patrolman was shot at close range along I-75 south in Bartow County but survived because he was wearing a body armor vest. Two troopers returned fire and killed the original shooter, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

The other shooting death occurred in Monroe when a man carrying a replica Thompson submachine gun allegedly pointed it at an officer, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

In the third incident, a suspect shot at police in Richland. but no one died.

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