VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) -- A man opened fire Friday on a police officer investigating a report of a damaged vehicle in south Georgia and was wounded when the officer returned fire, police said. The suspect also was wounded, but both men are expected to survive.
Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress said the officer was shot "multiple times" and that he's grateful both men will be OK.
"He is out of surgery now. His family is at the hospital. And I'm happy to report he's going to be fine," Childress said. "He's in stable condition but he's in the ICU as a precaution."
The suspect was not identified.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman Scott Dutton said one of the shots hit the officer in the abdomen, just below his protective vest. Other shots hit the officer's vest. Dutton said it's early in the investigation, but there's nothing to indicate that the shooting was related to the ambush of police officers in Dallas.
Childress also said there was no indication the attack was connected to the shootings in Dallas, which left five officers dead and seven wounded during a protest over the recent killings of black men by police in Minnesota and Louisiana.
"You start to wonder. But any motive of why this happened this morning would be speculation," Childress said.
The officer was wearing a body camera, and footage of the shooting has been turned over to the GBI, Childress said.
