Georgia deputy killed in shooting during domestic dispute call by suspect who took his own life

HIRAM, Ga. -- A Georgia sheriff's deputy was shot and killed while responding to a reported domestic dispute in what police said was an ambush on officers by a suspect who took his own life.

Two deputies responded to a call shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday and immediately were fired upon from a home in a subdivision in Hiram, Georgia, Major Ashley Henson of the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office said during a briefing.

The male suspect also fired “a hail of bullets” at other officers but only one was shot, Henson said.

Deputy Brandon Cunningham, 30, died at a hospital from a gunshot wound, Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge confirmed during the briefing.

“Tonight, we’ve lost a hero,” Gulledge said, adding that “it’s going to be a tough time for all of us and all of our guys.”

The suspect, who was not immediately identified, died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Henson said.

A woman who was involved in the domestic dispute had left but returned while police were at the scene. She also had been shot and was transported to an Atlanta-area hospital and listed in stable condition, Henson said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will oversee the investigation, Henson said, adding that it was not immediately clear if any of the officers returned fire in the community about 27 miles (43 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta.

“Unfortunately, it appears as if our deputies were ambushed,” Henson said.

He called the shooting a “tremendously tragic situation,” noting the sheriff's office had never lost an officer in the line of duty before Saturday.

“Our hearts are broken," Henson said. "You see us holding it together but there are going to be, there is already heartache, there is already tears."