Suspect accused of killing Warm Springs officer dead after shooting himself during South Carolina traffic stop
The search for a 23-year-old man wanted for the killing of a Georgia police officer has ended with the suspect confirmed dead in South Carolina, officials say.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued a Blue Alert for Jimmy Lee Steverson following the death of 36-year-old Officer Chris Fisher. The incident happened around 11:57 p.m. Tuesday in Warm Springs, according to the GBI.
The GBI says that Fisher was shot while finishing up an unrelated traffic stop in the parking lot of the Meriwether Country Inn on Spring Street shortly before midnight on Tuesday. According to investigators, a black 2026 Chevrolet Silverado pulled up next to Fisher's patrol car and the driver, later identified as Steverson, fired multiple shots into the vehicle, hitting and killing Fisher, and then fled the parking lot.
At around 11:39 a.m., deputies with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina stopped a car on Interstate 85 that Steverson was a passenger in that appeared to match a vehicle description sent out by the GBI. When the deputies reached the car, officials say the wanted man was found injured from an "apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound."
Steverson was taken to a local hospital. He has since been pronounced dead, Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride said.
According to McBride, the two other people in the vehicle are being detained but have not been charged with anything.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to call the GBI at 1-800-597-TIPS (8477).
Fisher's body will be taken to the GBI Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.
Who was Sgt. Christopher Fisher?
Fisher had joined the Warm Springs Police Department in May 2026 and was promoted to sergeant in July, his record from the Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council revealed.
He had previously worked with the Meriwether County Sheriff's Office, Fayette County Sheriff's Office and Heard County Sheriff's Office.
In September 2019, the Fayette County Sheriff's Office posted a photo of Fisher on Facebook, congratulating him on graduating the Basic Law Enforcement Training Course at the Fulton County Public Safety Training Center.
Gov. Brian Kemp expressed condolences to Fisher's family and colleagues Wednesday morning.
"Marty, the girls, and I are deeply saddened this morning by the news that Officer Chris Fisher has been killed," Kemp said. "This is a tragic reminder of the dangers law enforcement face on a daily basis in service to their communities, and I ask that all Georgians lift up Fisher's family and his fellow officers in prayer."
Small Georgia city mourns loss of fallen officer
Warm Springs, a city of about 465 people, 70 miles south of Atlanta, is mourning the loss of one of its own.
On Wednesday, people gathered outside the Warm Springs Police Department to place flowers in memory of Fisher.
Warm Springs is a small, tight-knit community where residents told CBS News Atlanta police officers are familiar faces, and they got to know Fisher after he joined the department in May.
Terry Lane, the owner of an antique shop in the city and president of the Merchant's Association, said when officers join the force, the police chief takes them around town to meet the community.
That is how Fisher was introduced a few months ago.
"On the way to work, it was pretty tough," Lane said. "Thinking about his family and just praying for him and his family, and the guy that they caught. Nobody needs to die while they are working to protect and serve. It's just a sad day for everybody."
Resident Heather Grizzard said the loss is especially difficult because of the importance of law enforcement in the community.
"I've met a few of them, but I haven't met him in particular," Grizzard said. "I read he was new to the force. Usually we know a lot of them. They come up and down the street a lot. It's just sad to know that that's the decision that somebody decided to take.
Area churches are organizing donations for Fisher's family.
