Officers fatally shot a registered sex offender near the Tennessee-Georgia border on Thursday who had a missing child in his car after he ran over multiple officers, according to local authorities.
Edward Ahrens, 38, was found while traveling toward Georgia with an 11-year-old girl who had gone missing from Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). Ahrens is on Georgia’s list of registered sex offenders after being convicted of sexually exploiting a child in 2008, according to the state’s records.
DEVELOPING: TBI special agents continue to investigate an overnight officer-involved shooting near the Georgia state line.
Here are preliminary details in this active and ongoing case.https://t.co/rmcPQqOi8s
— Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) February 2, 2024
Multiple law enforcement offices were investigating the girl’s disappearance and located Ahrens driving on the highway near the state line when he failed to comply during the confrontation, the Knox County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release.
“An encounter ensued, during which preliminary information indicates Ahrens refused to comply with officer commands to surrender and attempted to hit law enforcement officers with his vehicle. As a result, at least four officers fired their weapons into the vehicle, striking Ahrens, who subsequently died,” the TBI said in a press release.
The suspect was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after, according to the Knox County Sheriff’s press release. During the shooting, the child remained uninjured. Three Knox County deputies sustained minor injuries from the incident, the TBI noted. (RELATED: Missing 13-Year-Old Found Halfway Across Country Locked In Shed).
“We are grateful that Aubriauna, who was on the TBI endangered child list, was found alive and is now safe,” the Knox County Sheriff’s Office press release stated.
The investigation is ongoing, and the injured detectives have been placed on paid administrative leave.