WAYNESBORO, Ga. (AP) – Authorities say they’ve cleared a Georgia sheriff’s deputy of wrongdoing in a weekend shooting that left a man dead.
Burke County Natalie Pane says Deputy Eric Madison was justified in fatally shooting 45-year-old Fredrick Andrews Hadden Jr., and the sheriff’s office says likely saved the life of another person.
News outlets report that Hadden had abducted his ex-wife at gunpoint and forced her into a car. The deputy stopped the vehicle on Saturday, and Hadden allegedly shot her twice as she ran away.
The deputy then opened fire, shooting 18 times as he fatally wounded Hadden.
Madison wasn’t injured, and a sheriff’s statement praised his actions as “heroic.”