Deputies credit ‘teamwork’ of Georgia, Alabama agencies for arresting I-85 shooter

TROUP COUNTY, Ga. - A two-state manhunt for a suspect wanted for shooting at cars on Interstate 85 Wednesday ended in Alabama, but not before the suspect fired into a car in Troup County and traveled all the way through metro Atlanta.

There were desperate hours Wednesday after law enforcement pieced together three separate interstate shootings on I-85 in Montgomery, then Auburn, Alabama, and later Troup County, Georgia were all connected. And the shooter was still on the road.

It was 7:56 a.m. Wednesday when a driver on I-85 reported to Troup County authorities his car had been hit by gunfire while traveling north. There had been two earlier shootings on I-85 in Alabama that same morning. Another car in Montgomery and in Auburn, a motorist was injured by gunfire.

"The vehicle was shot three to four times and the victim was struck, I believe one time in the head. Yesterday, I think it was very serious condition, but I think he is going to pull through," said Troup County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Stewart Smith.

Law enforcement takes 39-year-old Jerel Raphael Brown into custody near the courthouse in LaFayette, Alabama on August 17, 2022. (Troup County Sheriff's Office)

The Troup County Sheriff’s Office says using highway camera technology and a description of a Cadillac provided by their victim, the suspect was caught in Chambers County, Alabama near the courthouse there.

Deputies identified him as 39-year-old Jerel Raphael Brown of Montgomery. He’s being charged with attempted murder in Alabama and aggravated assault in Georgia.

It took the combined effort of police up and down the highway in two states.

Law enforcement surround the vehicle near the courthouse in LaFayette, Alabama reportedly connected to a series of shootings along I-85 in Alabama and Georgia that injured at least one man on August 17, 2022. (Troup County Sheriff's Office)

"But it was just tremendous teamwork of law enforcement agencies from different states working together," said Sgt. Smith.

The shootings apparently started in Montgomery, then Auburn, then Troup County. But investigators say Brown traveled the highway Wednesday all the way through metro Atlanta into the northern counties before turning around and heading back to Alabama, apparently without firing again. There is still no word on his motive.