In the late winter of 2005, the community of Douglasville, Georgia, was shaken by the sudden and tragic death of 30-year-old Haven Blake Gammill, a white male who served as a Deputy Sheriff for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. On February 24th, Deputy Gammill, an eight-year veteran of the force, was part of a team of deputies executing a warrant at a residence on Georgia Highway 5. The warrant was for a man suspected of child molestation.
The deputies successfully took the primary suspect into custody within the living room of the home. As they proceeded to clear the remainder of the house to ensure it was secure, a sudden and unforeseen danger emerged. The stepfather of the man who had just been arrested appeared from a back room brandishing a firearm. Without warning, he opened fire, and Deputy Gammill was tragically struck in the face.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, another deputy on the scene returned fire, fatally wounding the stepfather. The man they had initially come to arrest was not injured during the exchange of gunfire. Deputy Gammill was airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center, but his injuries proved to be too severe, and he was pronounced dead.
As the perpetrator was killed at the scene, there were no subsequent arrests or a trial in connection with Deputy Gammill's death. The original suspect for whom the warrant was issued was taken into custody. The loss of Deputy Gammill was deeply felt by his colleagues and the community he had sworn to protect. He was survived by his parents, a fiancée, two young children from a previous marriage, a brother, and a sister.
