SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::
A man who was scheduled to turn himself in to authorities in connection with an Upson County murder committed suicide in the Ingles parking lot Sunday afternoon, officials say.
Despite rumors circulating rampantly on social media, there was no other fatality or injury associated with this incident.
According to Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix, the man, who has not yet been publicly identified, himself chose Ingles as the location to meet law enforcement authorities for a peaceful surrender.
In advance of the surrender, the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office worked jointly with the Upson County Sheriff’s Office and Thomaston Police Department, with SWAT Team members and other law enforcement personnel nearby.
The deceased suspect’s family was also present at Ingles.
“This afternoon there was an incident in the parking lot of Ingles. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to address it. The Upson County Sheriff’s Office, Thomaston Police Department, and the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office were working jointly to arrest a murder suspect from Upson County. In speaking with the suspect all day to arrange a peaceful surrender along with his family members, he finally agreed to turn himself over to officers,” Dix said. “He was accompanied to the place he chose by multiple family members. Deputies, Officers, SWAT Team members, were staged nearby. (Upson County) Sheriff Dan Kilgore and I were off site monitoring the operation. When the suspect and family members arrived on scene, they made contact with a Thomaston Police Officer who was standing by waiting for him. While speaking with the officer and family, he abruptly exited the vehicle he was sitting in, and shot himself in the head.”
Dix stressed that no officer on scene fired a weapon, reiterating information provided earlier Sunday that this was not an officer involved shooting.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was contacted and responded to the scene at Ingles.
“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was contacted and arrived on scene. To be clear, no officers fired a shot, no other person fired a shot, it was not a fight, it was not an argument over gas, there were no armed suspects that ran across the parking lot, there was no shootout, it did not involve Ingles, and it was not a random act of violence. It was a choice that one individual made to take his own life in front of family members and officers. None of the rumors you are seeing are true, there are no hidden stories, or coverups. No giant rug to which things are swept under. A man who felt he had no other choice took his own life.”
The GRIP will continue to follow this developing story and report additional information as it becomes available.
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