Warm Springs Police Officer Ambushed in Patrol Car, Suspected Gunman Dies From Self-Inflicted Gunshot

WARM SPRINGS, Ga. – A Warm Springs police officer was shot and killed while sitting in his patrol car late Tuesday night, and the suspected gunman was found hours later in South Carolina suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Officer Chris Fisher, 36, was killed in the shooting. The suspected gunman, identified as 23-year-old Jimmy Lee Steverson of Warm Springs, was later pronounced dead at a hospital in Anderson, South Carolina.

The shooting happened around 11:57 p.m. Sept. 1 in the parking lot of the Meriwether Country Inn at 5675 Spring St.

According to preliminary information from the GBI, Fisher was on duty and sitting in his patrol car after completing an unrelated traffic stop.

A black 2026 Chevrolet Silverado pulled up beside Fisher’s patrol vehicle. Investigators said Steverson, who was driving the Silverado, fired multiple shots into the officer’s patrol car, striking Fisher.

Steverson then fled the parking lot.

Fisher was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

Nearly 12 hours later, at approximately 11:39 a.m. Sept. 2, deputies with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in Anderson.

Steverson was a passenger in the vehicle.

When law enforcement made contact with the occupants, they found Steverson suffering from what authorities described as an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The GBI has not disclosed a possible motive for Fisher’s killing or said whether the officer and Steverson had any interaction before the shooting.

The Warm Springs Police Department requested the GBI investigation. Numerous local, state and federal law enforcement agencies assisted in the investigation and search for Steverson.

Anyone with information can contact the GBI Midland Regional Investigative Office at 706-565-7888.