Deputy U.S. marshal shot dead serving warrant in Georgia

LUDOWICI, Ga. -- Federal authorities say a deputy U.S. marshal has been fatally shot while trying to serve an arrest warrant in southeast Georgia.

A news release from the U.S. Marshals Service says the suspect was killed by officers who returned fire. The release says the deputy marshal, 53-year-old Patrick Carothers, was shot twice while trying to serve a warrant at a mobile home in rural Long County, about 55 miles southeast of Savannah.

Stewart Cottingham, supervisory inspector for a fugitive task force run by the U.S. Marshals Service, says the suspect was a fugitive wanted in Sumter County, South Carolina.

The fugitive, Dontrell Montese Carter, was wanted on charges of attempted murder of police officers, domestic violence and unlawfully discharging a weapon stemming from a September incident, reports CBS affiliate WTOC. Carter was reportedly struck multiple times in a gunfight with officers Friday and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Carothers, a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Marshals Service, served as deputy commander of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force for more than a year, the station reports.

In a statement, U.S. Marshals Service Deputy Director David Harlow said Carothers was married and had five children. He called Carothers a hero and described Carter as “extremely dangerous.”