Commerce Man Charges Officers with Screwdriver, Two Officers Fire At Him

COMMERCE, Ga. – The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is examining an officer-involved shooting in Commerce that left a man critically injured after police said he charged at officers while armed with a screwdriver.

According to the GBI, the agency was asked by the Commerce Police Department to investigate the shooting, which occurred Thursday evening. No officers were injured.

Investigators said the incident began when Commerce police received a 911 call reporting a domestic dispute at a residence on Forest Avenue. The caller reported that a man had kicked in a door, threatened people inside the home and then fled to another residence in the 200 block of Orchard Drive.

Officers initially responded to the Forest Avenue address at approximately 6:30 p.m.

About 15 minutes later, officers went to the Orchard Drive residence in an effort to locate the suspect.

According to the GBI’s preliminary investigation, officers encountered the man, who was armed with a screwdriver and moving rapidly toward them. Police said officers repeatedly gave verbal commands for him to slow down and stop, but he did not comply.

Investigators said the man then charged toward the officers while holding the screwdriver in what was described as an aggressive manner.

Two officers fired their weapons, striking the man multiple times.

The man was transported to a local hospital, where he remained in critical condition.

The GBI is conducting an independent investigation into the shooting. Once completed, the case file will be submitted to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.

The identity of the man has not been released, and the investigation remains ongoing.