Man killed after shooting state trooper on I-75

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A handcuffed man who had been pulled over for a traffic stop on Interstate 75 was shot and killed after he shot a Georgia State Trooper, authorities said Thursday.

The incident happened just before 11 a.m. Thursday off I-75 South near exit 293.

State Patrol Public Information Officer Captain Mark Perry said the trooper pulled over a vehicle going too slow on the interstate. Captain Perry said when the trooper approached the car, he saw a female driver and male passenger with drugs and a weapon in plain sight.

"He noticed some illegal contraband inside the car. He noticed some gun and some drugs in plain sight. He immediately went back to his car. He called for some backup," said Capt. Mark Perry, Georgia State Patrol.

After the trooper called for backup, the two troopers removed the woman and the man from their car and put them into their patrol cars.

According to Perry, troopers used a portable fingerprint scanner to identify the man as a wanted parole violator who had been on the run for eight months.

The two troopers searched the car, where they reportedly found a gun, drugs, and cash. After that, the troopers took the man out of the patrol car to search him again.

"And then when he goes back and gets him out to do the full search, the full everything search, that's when the violator has the gun," said Capt. Perry.

According to Captain Perry, the man who was handcuffed behind his back had hidden a weapon in the small of his back that he grabbed and shot one of the troopers in the abdomen.

"Some kind of jogging-type pants and they were loose, and I don't know how he missed it, but at some point, he obviously missed it," said Capt. Perry.

The trooper’s vest stopped the bullet from penetrating the trooper’s body.

Both troopers quickly returned fire, striking the man multiple times.

Medics rushed both men to Cartersville Medical Center.

Either in route or at the hospital, the man who troopers have not yet publicly named died.

The wounded trooper was treated and released from the hospital.

"Well, the trooper could have very well lost his life if it hadn't been for his vest and an abdomen shot," said Capt. Perry.

The investigation caused a back up of southbound traffic on I-75 for hours with a number of law enforcement officers at the scene.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to investigate the incident.