Sheriff: 2 deputies killed while serving warrant in Georgia

ATLANTA — Two deputies were killed Thursday night while serving a warrant in a suburb near Atlanta and two suspects were in custody, authorities said.

The sheriff’s office in Cobb County tweeted initially that two deputies had “died in the line of duty” and that a SWAT team and other law enforcement officers remained at the scene where a suspect was barricaded. It wasn’t immediately clear how it was resolved.

Sheriff Craig D. Owens later said the deputies had gotten out of their cars and were talking to the suspects when shots rang out, WSB-TV reported. The two suspected perpetrators were being held at the Cobb County Police Department for questioning, Owens said.

He said the deputies had been serving a warrant for failure to appear by theft of deception.

WSB-TV reported that people in the neighborhood reported hearing several gunshots and then seeing law enforcement officers swarm the area.

Owens said the two deputies who were killed had been with his department for more than five years.

The sheriff’s office said more information would be released later.

Sprawling Cobb County with more than 760,000 people is just northwest of Atlanta and one of Georgia’s most populous counties.