Stolen car suspect who fired at deputies shot dead in downtown Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WATE) — A stolen car suspect was shot dead Thursday in Chattanooga after leading deputies on a pursuit and firing shots at one, Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett told WTVC.

According to Garrett, the pursuit began after someone driving a vehicle reported stolen in Georgia fired shots at a deputy who attempted to stop the car around 5 a.m. Thursday.

Deputies later lost sight of the vehicle but the pursuit resumed once it was located by another unit.

Garrett said the chase ended in downtown Chattanooga on Martin Luther King Boulevard where the suspect fired shots at deputies. Deputies opened fire and killed the suspect, he said.

One deputy was hit but not seriously injured.

The identity of the suspect has not been released but the sheriff told a WTVC crew he was a ‘dangerous person’ who was “pretty intent on getting away and didn’t care who he endangered in the process.”

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will handle the investigation.

Chattanooga Police said that drivers should avoid the area of Martin Luther King Boulevard between Lindsay Street and Georgia Avenue.