Georgia police officer killed, second wounded in shooting near university

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ATLANTA (Reuters) - A Georgia police officer was killed and a second critically injured in a shooting that occurred on Wednesday morning near a university campus in the southwestern part of the state, officials said.

A manhunt was underway for the shooter on Wednesday afternoon and Georgia Southwestern State University has been on lockdown since the shooting was reported at about 9:30 a.m. in Americus, Georgia, about 150 miles south of Atlanta, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

The suspect was identified as Minguel Lembrick, 35, and he is considered "armed and dangerous," said GBI agent Nelly Miles.

Officers with both the Americus Police Department and university police were responding to a 911 call about a domestic dispute when they encountered Lembrick, Miles said. Both officers were shot, but it was not immediately known if the officers also fired their weapons, she said.

University internet tweets are asking all students and staff on campus to shelter in place. All are asked to secure entrances and stay away from windows and turn off lights.

The officer who died was an Americus police officer and the wounded officer was a GeorgiaSouthwestern University public safety officer, who was listed in “very, very critical condition” after the shooting near campus, according to WXIA–TV in Atlanta. 

Neither officer has been identified. Both were taken to Medical Center, Navicent Health in Macon,Georgia, local media reported.

The shooting happened near Griffin Bell Golf Course, just south of campus, the university said in an emergency alert. 

(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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