Gavin Williams, 27

Lizella, Georgia
April 25, 2017

Agencies: Georgia Bureau of Investigation GBI | Bibb County Sheriff's office Georgia

Cause of death: Shooting

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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

A 27-year-old Lizella man, who was shot and killed by a Bibb County sheriff’s deputy, had defied other non-lethal SWAT team weapons, deputies say.

According to new details released late Tuesday night by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, Gavin Williams swung a liquor bottle at the first deputy who arrived at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at 2768 Moncrief Road to investigate an assault of an elderly couple who lived there.

As the deputy came up, Williams had been standing over 72-year-old Sanders Hughes, who was sitting on his front porch, bleeding from his head around hit right eye.

He appeared to have been beaten and cut, the release stated. At last report, Hughes was in critical, but stable condition Wednesday at Medical Center, Navicent Health.

Vivian Hughes, 70, who had been beaten in the face and stabbed in the abdomen, was inside the house when the officer arrived. She died just after 7 p.m. in the operating room of Medical Center, Navicent Health.

They deputy tased Williams, trying to get him to stop, but the 6-feet-4, 340-pound man pulled the prongs off and kept running.

The officer grabbed his arm and pepper sprayed Williams, but he slipped away, ran into his neighboring house at 2794 Moncrief Road and barricaded himself inside.

SWAT team officers arrived at about 4:30 p.m. and tried to get Williams to surrender.

He talked with them briefly, but stopped communicating.

They tried tear gas, but he still did not respond for “what seemed a lengthy period of time,” the release stated.

When Williams came out of his back door toward deputies, they continually shouted for him to stop. He kept coming at them with a shiny, pointed metal object, according to the release.

Forensics investigators later recovered a large knife and a large barbecue fork near the scene of the shooting.

Deputies fired bean bags at Williams, but he moved toward Deputy Rozier, who fired the fatal shots and has been placed on administrative leave, according to standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.