One of several incidents of anti-police violence this week
A Georgia man called 911 to report a vehicle break-in Friday morning, then opened fire on the responding officer, in what is the latest in a series of violent encounters between citizens and police officers this week.
Authorities say that Stephen Paul Beck, 22, called 911 and said that his car had been broken into and he needed police assistance. When Officer Randall Hancock responded to the call, Beck shot at him several times, striking him twice in his protective vest and once in his abdomen, according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Officer Hancock returned fire and stopped the shooter. Both men are currently hospitalized: Officer Hancock is in stable condition, Beck is in serious condition.
A spokesman from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress confirmed that Officer Hancock is white, and the shooter is Asian American. There is not yet any known motive, and investigators said there is no indication of a connection with the shootings in Dallas.
The shooting is the latest in a string of violent encounters that have left several police officers and civilians dead this week. The police killings of two black men early this week—Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Minnesota—sparked widespread outrage, prompting peaceful Black Lives Matter protests around the country. At the Black Lives Matter demonstration in Dallas, a sniper ambushed police officers, killing at least 5 and wounding 7 others. And in Tennessee, a shooter opened fire on a highway, a hotel, and a group of responding officers, killing one woman and wounding several others.