SC man Khari Gordon charged with attempted murder, accused of shooting 2 Lavonia, GA cops

LAVONIA, GA (FOX Carolina) -

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed a suspect was arrested after shooting two police officers in Franklin County Monday evening.

Chief Bruce Carlisle with the Lavonia Police Department said the incident started as a traffic stop. He said the two officers noticed the vehicle the suspect was driving had been reported stolen out of Greenville and went to arrest the suspect.

The suspect then shot both officers, per the chief. One was veteran officer Captain Michael Schulman, 50, who was shot in the arm pit area above his vest. The second officer, 22-year-old Jeffrey Martin, was shot in the hand and will have to seek out a specialist to remove the bullet. Carlisle said Martin is an army veteran who has been employed by the department for less than a year. Schulman is married with two children. Martin is also married.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office said 22-year-old Khari Anthony Gordon of Greenville took off on foot after shooting the two officers. A manhunt then ensued. A few hours later the GBI announced the suspect had been caught.

According to a GBI special agent, Gordon was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault on an officer and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. More charges could be applied.

Captain Michael Shulman (left) and Officer Jeffrey Wright (Courtesy: Lavonia PD)

Khari Anthony Gordon (Source: Franklin Co. Sheriff's Office)

Multiple agencies on scene after 2 officers shot in Lavonia, per GBI. (December 12, 2016 FOX Carolina)

The two officers were transported to the Greenville Memorial Emergency Room with what the chief believes are non-life threatening injuries.

The shots were fired near a Zaxby’s restaurant on Jones Street in Lavonia shortly after 8 p.m. We were able to contact management at that Zaxby's who said employee's are safe, but the restaurant is closed.

The nearby Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn said they are also keeping their doors closed. St. Mary's Sacred Heart hospital on Clear Creek Parkway was on lock down, but the lock down has been lifted.

The FBI, GBI and other local law enforcement agencies as far as North of Atlanta assisted with the search.

Gordon was also charged with attempted murder in connection with a Greenville County shooting in 2015.

Police towed the stolen vehicle investigators said Gordon was driving from the parking lot of the Zaxby's restaurant just after 5 a.m. Tuesday.

The Lavonia shootings are the sixth involving Georgia police officers within a week. Two officers died in Americus on Dec. 7 after being shot while responding to a domestic dispute. Two other officers were injured in a shooting in Byron during a drug raid early Monday moing.

Save