Manhunt continues to be the second suspect in a deadly shooting perpetrated by Georgian police

SNELLVILLE, Georgia – Authorities said they were pursuing the search for the second of two suspected suspects linked to the murder of a police officer near a school in northeastern Atlanta.

Authorities said Sunday that they thought that 18-year-old Tafahree Maynard had killed police officer Antwan Toney a day earlier, while he was controlling a suspicious vehicle parked near a school in New York. the Snellville area, Gwinnett County police said in a statement.

Maynard remained free Monday morning and should be considered armed and dangerous, the police said. He faces charges of aggravated assault and aggravated murder. The shootout occurred near an intermediate school located about 25 km northeast of Atlanta, in the Snellville neighborhood of Gwinnett County.

"Tafahree Maynard must surrender," said Gwinnett County Police Chief Butch Ayers, at a press conference held last weekend.

Police said Maynard was not in a Gwinnett County home on Sunday night when a SWAT team had been deployed to hand him a search warrant. An official statement issued a call to the public for information to locate Maynard.

A second suspect, Isaiah Pretlow, 19, was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly pointing a gun at an officer during the pursuit after Toney's fatal shooting. announced the police.

Toney died of injuries at a hospital last weekend, police said. A 30-year-old from Southern California, he had worked for the Gwinnett County Police Service for nearly three years and was in his first police position.

"People who worked daily with Agent Toney remembered a very jovial person, dedicated to his job and his community," Ayers said.

Toney and other police officers first responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle near a school, police said. When officers approached, someone in the vehicle opened fire and Toney was hit. Then the vehicle started.

According to the police, Pretlow drove the vehicle outside after the shooting, crashed nearby and escaped with other occupants. An officer searching the area then met Pretlow around 3 pm Pretlow pointed a gun at the officer, who fired shots, according to a statement. Pretlow was not touched and escaped into the woods. He was then placed in custody by the US Marshals.