Update: Suspect dead, cop injured in standoff at Warner Robins mall, police say
A suspect shot and injured a cop, then officers shot back and killed him Friday morning at a mall in Centerville, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The incident began as an alleged domestic dispute in Byron, then escalated when law enforcement found him at the Galleria Mall in Centerville, the GBI said in a news release.
The suspect, Michael Dwayne Bell, 37, was later shot and killed by officers during a standoff in the mall parking lot, the GBI said.
What happened
Byron officers first asked the Centerville Police Department to search for a tractor-trailer allegedly driven by the Fitzgerald man, who was accused of being involved in the “domestic violence incident,” the GBI said.
Centerville officers were dispatched to the parking lot of Crunch Fitness at the Galleria Mall, and they found his vehicle.
Cops from the Centerville, Warner Robins and Byron police departments came in contact with Bell around 3:45 a.m.
Police knocked on the side of the truck, “announcing themselves as police officers,” the Centerville Police Department said on Facebook.
Cops told Bell “he was under arrest,” but he “refused to get out of the vehicle,” the GBI said.
Officers were “negotiating with an armed subject in efforts to get him to surrender,” WRPD said at the time.
While Bell was inside the truck, he shot and injured a Warner Robins police officer, according to the GBI and Centerville Police Department.
Officers then “returned fire” into the vehicle, Centerville officers said.
They established a perimeter around the scene, and “a standoff occurred,” the GBI and Centerville police said.
The Warner Robins Police Department urged the public to avoid the Galleria Mall around 5:30 a.m. due to the standoff, according to the police department’s Facebook.
Officers “attempted to communicate with Bell,” but he didn’t respond by 6:20 a.m., according to the GBI.
Police then entered his vehicle and found Bell dead, according to state investigators.
The injured cop was taken to Atrium Health Navicent Medical Center in Macon, where he was expected to survive the injury.
No one else was injured during the incident, the GBI said.
The area was considered “safe to travel” by 9:30 a.m., the Warner Robins Police Department said on Facebook.
Lydia Bullard, the GBI’s public affairs specialist, initially called the incident an “officer involved shooting,” but the agency didn’t confirm the extent of injuries until around 2 p.m.
The Warner Robins Police Department asked the GBI to lead an investigation into the incident.
“Once we receive information from GBI agents, we will share our news release on the GBI website and X,” Bullard said.
Galleria Mall open after incident
Management for the Galleria Mall said that the mall “will be open for normal business hours at 10:00 a.m. today,” according to their Facebook post.
“As of approximately 8:30 AM, the incident near the mall has been resolved and it is safe to return to the area,” officials from the mall said on Facebook. “There may still be a visible police presence as final safety checks are completed.”
The mall appeared to have resumed normal operations with no signs of law enforcement just after 10:30 a.m.
The Warner Robins Police Department and GBI denied The Telegraph’s requests for further details. The Centerville Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.
This story was originally published August 8, 2025 at 9:17 AM.
CORRECTION: It hasn’t been made clear which agency the officer who shot the suspect was from. This information was incorrect in a previous version of this story.