A 30-year-old father became the first officer in the Paulding County Sheriff’s Department to be killed in the line of duty this past weekend.
News of Brandon Cunningham’s death was revealed by the Georgia county’s Sheriff Gary Gulledge. The young deputy was fatally shot on Saturday August 17, when responding to a 911 call about a domestic conflict. The sheriff told the local community that they had “lost a hero” that night.
According to Major Ashley Henson, Cunningham and a fellow deputy were reportedly “ambushed” during a domestic dispute response in Hiram. She described the incident as a “tremendously tragic situation.” The two deputies arrived at the address given in the 911 call. They were surprised by the sudden onslaught of gunfire from a suspect who was located inside the house.
Cunningham was shot and his colleague managed to avoid the bullets. James Samuel Atkins, the 42-year-old shooting suspect, was later found dead. He appeared to have killed himself with another bullet. A second victim was also found at the scene, later identified as Kim Thao Vu, age 52. She sustained gunshot wounds, was taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and was confirmed to be in stable condition later that night.
In a press conference about the incident, Gulledge acknowledged that “everybody” connected to the fallen officer “is hurting,” including “our whole staff.” He also requested prayers for “this family,” referring to the officer’s biological loved ones and his family dressed in blue.
Cunningham began working for the department in 2020. His death leaves two children fatherless and makes him the first Paulding officer to fall on duty in the department’s history. A Facebook statement from the agency described the tragedy as “one of the hardest” things that has occurred in the department’s history.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is set to spearhead a probe into what happened on Saturday night. Henson also revealed that there is uncertainty as to whether officers at the scene returned fire when the ambush was launched.
Recent reports from federal law enforcement indicate a rise in officers being killed in the line of duty, with nearly 200 such cases between 2021 and 2023, marking the highest rate in a three-year time frame over the past 20 years.
