Runaway suspect shot and killed officer outside Georgia police department

A manhunt is underway in central Georgia after an officer was shot dead outside his police department early Saturday, authorities said.

Dylan Harrison, 26, of Dudley, Ga., Was working his first shift as a part-time officer with the Alamo Police Department in Wheeler County when he was fatally shot around 1 a.m. Saturday morning, police said.

A suspect in the shooting, Damien Anthony Ferguson, 43, from Alamo, is still at large, authorities said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is offering a reward of $ 17,500 for information leading to his arrest.

“Right now, this investigation is very active,” said Natalie Ammons, deputy director of public and government affairs at GBI, during a press briefing on Saturday afternoon. “The most important thing is to take the suspect into custody.”

GBI has issued a “blue alert”, a public safety alert indicating the search for a suspect who allegedly killed or injured an officer and was not apprehended, for Ferguson.

No further details of the incident were provided.

Harrison appears to be at least the fifth Georgian officer killed in the line of duty this year, according to Officer Down Memorial Page, who tracks law enforcement deaths.

He was also a full-time Oconee Drug Task Force officer in Eastman, Ga., And has been in law enforcement since 2018. He leaves behind his wife and 6-month-old baby.

Ferguson served eight years in prison after being convicted in Wheeler County of aggravated assault charges against a peace officer, according to Georgia Department of Corrections files. He was released in 2006.

Authorities have said Ferguson, aka Luke Ferguson, is black, 5 feet 10 inches tall, and weighs around 215 pounds, with brown eyes and short black hair.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts or the investigation into the shooting can submit an anonymous report by calling 1-800-597-8477 or visiting the GBI website.

ABC News’s Elwyn Lopez contributed to this report.