TURNER COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) - A Turner County deputy was shot following a multi-county pursuit that ended in Dooly County.

According to Sheriff Andy Hester with the Turner County Sheriff’s Office, a pursuit began around 2 a.m. in Cook County.

The suspect was traveling north into Turner County when three deputies with the Turner County Sheriff’s Office joined the pursuit. They continued the pursuit, going through Crisp County and into Dooly County. At around the 108-mile marker, a Turner County deputy initiated a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) maneuver.

After the suspect’s vehicle came to a rest against the guardrail, deputies attempted to remove her from the vehicle, but she pulled out a firearm and began firing.

A shot struck Turner County Deputy Baily Johnson. All three Turner County deputies returned fire, and the suspect was pronounced dead on the scene.

“It’s tragic that she had to lose her life, but she was trying to take our deputies’ lives, and that’s the result she got,” Hester said.

The name of the suspect is not being released right now, as officials work to notify the next of kin. Hester said his deputies are lucky to be alive.

“Very happy that the deputies were not hurt worse than they were. I hate that she lost her life, but she made that choice,” he said. “She made the choice to run. She made the choice to pull that handgun out and use it against law enforcement. And they did what they’re trained to do, reacted in a matter that resulted in her losing her life.”

Lieutenant Bobby Caton, Chief Deputy Charles Dean, deputies with the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office, deputies with the Dooly County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Sycamore Police Department also assisted in the pursuit.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is investigating the use of force in this case.

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