Georgia deputy goes to perform welfare check, gets shot in forehead

A Troup County deputy was shot multiple times while conducting a welfare check on a man, according to WSB-TV.

Deputy Michael Hockett, who went to a home on Jackson Street in LaGrange to perform the check, was hit in the forehead, elbow and waist by pellets from a shotgun before returning fire at the gunman, who has been identified as Matthew Edmonson. The deputy is expected to be OK, said the news station.

“When the deputy arrived, he exited his vehicle to go around a fence toward the house and heard what he described as a banging sound,” Troup County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Stewart Smith told WSB. Edmonson then fired shots at Hockett when he went to investigate.

“The deputy then retreated, at which time the individual got into a truck and began driving toward the deputy,” Smith told the station. Smith said Edmonson then got out of the car, fired shots at Hockett and the two exchanged gunfire.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the wounded Edmonson barricaded himself inside of the LaGrange home, but deputies were able talk to him out of the home. He surrendered and was taken into custody just before 6:30 p.m., WSB reported.

According to the AJC, authorities have been called to Edmonson’s home multiple times when the man experienced psychological problems.

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This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Georgia deputy goes to perform welfare check, gets shot in forehead."