The 18-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a police officer near a school in the Atlanta area over the weekend was shot and killed by another officer Monday, police said.
Authorities said they believe 18-year-old Tafahree Maynard fatally shot Officer Antwan Toney on Saturday afternoon in the Snellville area, Gwinnett County Police said in a statement. Toney is from Bellflower and had spent his entire life in the LA area until recently taking a job in the Atlanta metro area, according to Atlanta’s NBC affiliate WXIA.
Sister Carla Johnson said she talked to her brother as he responded to the call. He said he would call her back.
“We all knew he was always going to be a police officer,” she said. “It just happened to be in Atlanta, and we were completely ok with that.
“He loved his job.”
Maynard was the second of two men charged in the fatal shooting Saturday of Toney.
Gwinnett County police Chief Butch Ayers told reporters police got a credible tip about Maynard’s whereabouts around 3 a.m. Monday morning. Dozens of police officers went door-to-door in a search for him.
Two officers searching a shed behind a house encountered Maynard, who failed to comply with verbal commands, Ayers said. Maynard had an “edged weapon” in his hand, the chief said.
One officer fired a stun gun at Maynard and the other fatally shot him from about 5 or 6 feet away, Ayers said.
A second suspect, 19-year-old Isaiah Pretlow, was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly pointing a firearm at an officer during the pursuit after Toney’s fatal shooting, police said earlier.
Toney died at a hospital from his injuries, police said. The 30-year-old from Southern California had been with the Gwinnett County Police Department for nearly three years. It was his first police job.
“The people that worked with Officer Toney on a daily basis recalled a very jovial person who was dedicated to his job and dedicated to his community,” Ayers said.
Toney and other officers responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle near a school, police said. When the officers approached, someone in the vehicle opened fire and Toney was hit. Then the vehicle sped off.
According to police, Pretlow drove the vehicle from the scene following the shooting, crashed a short distance away and fled along with other occupants. An officer who was searching the area later encountered Pretlow about 3 p.m. Pretlow pointed a gun at the officer, who fired shots. Pretlow was not hit and fled into a wooded area. He was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals about 11:30 p.m.
The shooting happened near Shiloh Middle School, about 25 miles northeast of Atlanta.
