GBI Agents Targeted in Hortense, GA Shooting; Suspect in Critical Condition

Hortense, GA – On Friday, October 31, 2025, at approximately 11:45 a.m., GBI Agents from the Kingsland Regional Investigative Office were at a home on Drury Court in Hortense, Brantley County, conducting an interview with 49-year-old Warren Edmond Leaon West in connection with an ongoing child molestation investigation.

As the interview concluded, West allegedly ran from the agents and fired two shots at them. No agents were injured during the incident. West then fled into the woods behind the home. While law enforcement established a perimeter around the property, additional gunfire was reported coming from the wooded area.

Multiple agencies, including the Brantley County Sheriff’s Office, Glynn County Sheriff’s Office, Camden County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the Georgia State Patrol, responded to assist in the search. West was eventually located in the woods with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, for advanced trauma care.

The GBI’s Regional Investigative Office in Douglas, GA, is leading the investigation. Charges against West are forthcoming, and authorities have confirmed the case is active and ongoing.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Brantley County Sheriff’s Office at (912) 462-6141 or the GBI’s Regional Investigative Office in Douglas, GA, at (912) 389-4103. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be given to the Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.