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Officer Gunned Down After Responding To Dispute At Neighborhood Cookout

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

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Amber Randall Civil Rights Reporter
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A dispute between neighbors left one Georgia deputy killed and another in critical condition Sunday afternoon.

Ralph Stanley Elrod opened fire on the two Peach County Sheriff’s deputies who responded to an argument between Elrod and a neighbor, reports Fox 5 Atlanta.

The incident left Sgt. Patrick Sondron dead and Deputy Daryl Smallwood hospitalized in critical condition.

“These guys came out here to help people. That’s what’s troubling to me,” Agent J.T. Ricketson of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), said after the incident.

Neighbors were arguing during the cookout while on the street using a four-wheeler and motorcycle. Elrod and one other person left his house to confront them — Elrod then grew angry and pulled a weapon.

The two deputies arrived on the scene after people at the cookout called the police. When the deputies pulled up and stepped out of their cars, Elrod gunned them down,  according to the GBI.

“They both went down,” Ricketson said. People at the cookout called 911 again.

More officers came to the scene and “they exchanged fire with the subject, who was struck at least once,” Ricketson continued.

Elrod suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

The attack on the two deputies comes after a recent “ambush style attack” on two Iowa officers. The two officers were gunned down while sitting in their squad cars. (RELATED:Suspect Caught In Double Murder Of Iowa Cops)

Police found one Urbandale police officer injured, while a Des Moines officers was found shot about 20 minutes later.

“These guys were gunned down, sitting in their car doing nothing wrong. There is a clear and present danger to police officers right now. There’s definitely danger out there right now,” Des Moines Police Department spokesman Paul Parizek said at a press conference.

Police arrested 46-year-old Scott Michael Greene as a potential suspect in the attacks.

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Amber Randall