Deputy shoots and kills man said to attack with knife

VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) - A south Georgia sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man Friday that the sheriff said was attacking a second deputy with a knife.

Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk tells The Valdosta Daily Times that the shooting happened before noon at an apartment complex in Valdosta.

“A deputy was attempting to serve papers when the assailant attacked him with a knife,” Paulk said. “A second deputy on the scene took defensive action to protect the other deputy … the assailant is deceased.”

The deceased man’s name has not been released.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it has launched an inquiry, as is customary in most police shootings in Georgia. GBI says the shooting happened when deputies were trying to serve a court pickup order. No deputies were injured.

It’s the 15th police shooting the GBI has investigated this year, and the fourth in which someone died.