A 26-year-old police officer in Georgia was fatally shot during his first shift early Saturday morning, investigators said.
Dylan Harrison was shot at about 1 a.m. outside the Alamo police station, and his alleged killer remains at large, said Natalie Ammons, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) spokesperson, during a press conference Saturday afternoon.
The part-time officer leaves behind a wife and six-month-old baby, Ammons said, adding that Harrison also served as a full-time Oconee Drug Task Force agent in Eastman, Georgia.
His body was sent to the GBI Crime Lab Saturday for an autopsy, she said. Investigators had not released any details about what led up to the fatal shooting Saturday evening.
A blue alert was issued for the man suspected in the shooting, 43-year-old Damien Anthony Ferguson, she said. Blue alerts are issued when someone accused of harming or killing a police officer has not been arrested.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact law enforcement by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), she said.
“At this time, this investigation is very active,” she added. “The most important thing is to take the suspect into custody.”
Tributes poured in for the slain officer and his family on Saturday.
“Early this morning, one of our law enforcement officials in Middle Georgia was killed in the line of duty. Our thoughts and prayers are with this officer’s family, friends, and colleagues at the Alamo Police Department,” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp wrote on Twitter.
He added, “May God continue to be with all who protect and serve.”
The Georgia Department of Public Safety wrote, “We are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Alamo Police Department’s Officer killed in the line of duty early this morning. We send our thoughts and prayers to the Officer’s family, blood and blue.”
Alamo is a city of just under 5,000 people about 90 miles southeast of Macon.
In similar news, on Monday an officer was killed during a shooting at an Amtrak station in Tuscon, Arizona, during a routine inspection of a train.
“I ask all Tucsonans to join me in praying for the deceased DEA officer and for the swift recovery of the law enforcement officers who were injured,” Tuscon Mayor Regina Romero said in a statement Monday. “I am ordering flags at all city facilities to half staff to honor the courageous actions of the deceased and the injured.”
So far in 2021, there have been at least 340 line-of-duty deaths in the United States, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. At least 45 were fatally shot, and 16 were killed by vehicular assault.
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