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BREAKING: Attempted Cop Killer Captured, Wounded Deputy Needs ‘A Miracle’ To Survive

Sandy MaloneJune 30, 2022

Bibb County, AL – Two Bibb County sheriff’s deputies were shot during the pursuit of a suspected stolen vehicle on Wednesday and one of the heroes is not expected to survive his wounds.

The incident occurred on the evening of June 29 after Bibb County Sheriff’s Deputies Chris Poole and Brad Johnson spotted a suspected stolen vehicle, WVTM reported.

The deputies pursued the vehicle until the driver – later identified as 26-year-old Austin Patrick Hall – opened fire on them along Highway 25 in the Brierfield area, Yellowhammer News reported.

Deputy Johnson was shot in the head and Deputy Poole was also wounded, WTVM reported.

The deputies were transported to University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital for treatment.

The community held a prayer vigil for the wounded deputies on Wednesday night.

A 16-agency manhunt ensued with local, state, and federal law enforcement officers working together to track down the attempted cop killer.

The U.S. Marshals Service announced that Hall had been captured on Thursday morning.

Bibb County District Attorney Michael Jackson said Hall was apprehended in the Bulldog Bend area of Bibb County at about 8:50 a.m. on June 30, Yellowhammer News reported.

Jackson said that Hall has an extensive criminal history that dates back to 2012.

Hall also escaped from a Wilcox County work release facility in 2019 while serving a 10-year sentence for a 2018 theft of property conviction, 1819 News reported.

He was indicted in May on 10 charges of second-degree receiving stolen property, reckless endangerment, second-degree assault, illegally carrying a firearm, drug possession, resisting arrest, attempting to elude, and third-degree burglary in Calhoun County, but was out on bond when he opened fire on the deputies.

Jackson told reporters that one of the wounded deputies was “doing fine,” while the other remained on life support in critical condition, NBC News reported.

Deputy Johnson’s father, Steven Johnson, told WTVM that his son’s brain activity is minimal and that “unless a miracle happens,” doctors would take the fallen hero off life support on Thursday afternoon.

The wounded hero is an organ donor, according to his father.

Deputy Johnson was a K9 handler and has been a member of the sheriff’s department for seven years, WTVM reported.

He has two children and is engaged to be married.

Deputy Poole was released from the hospital on Thursday morning to recover at home, WTVM reported.

This is a developing story and we will keep you updated. For all of our updates, follow us on Facebook and go to your news feed preferences under your settings, then select that you want to see more of The Police Tribune’s posts in your news feed. Otherwise, Facebook may not show you updates.

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Sandy Malone

Managing Editor - Twitter/@SandyMalone_ - Prior to joining The Police Tribune, Sandy wrote the Politics.Net column for the Wall Street Journal and was managing editor of Campaigns & Elections magazine. More recently, she was an internationally-syndicated columnist for Conde Nast (BRIDES), The Huffington Post, and Monsters and Critics. Sandy is married to a retired police captain and former SWAT commander.

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