Austin’s Daily Commentary – Armed Confrontation And Officer Involved Shooting in Appling

Austin: Those who know Bradley Gooding well say that he's been suffering from mental difficulties for quite some time. Sadly, yesterday some of those difficulties manifested in an armed confrontation with family members at his Appling home.

When deputies were called to the scene, he attempted to flee the scene. Gooding did in a vehicle, family vehicle and a high-speed chase ensued. Again, this is a man who was armed and he had threatened family members with that firearm.

As police officers chased this gentleman, he begins firing back at them. A fairly large, significant number of gunshots from what I've been told. Bottom line, when they cornered him, a few miles down the road, he actually turned the gun on himself, attempting to commit suicide. He was unsuccessful in this, report. He is still in the ICU unit at an Augusta hospital in stable condition.

But what happened yesterday could have ended in a much different way. No one was injured except for getting himself from what we're told. Several deputies came very close to being shot. God knows what exactly happened with the family members back at the family home. And again, we could have had an epically tragic story instead of just a story where the assailant is the one who's injured in the hospital.

The bottom line, there were civilians and family members that were thanking the Columbia County Sheriff's Department for their heroism and their quick thinking in this matter, getting Gooding under control quickly.

Folks, I got to tell you, this is routine work for police officers all over the CSRA. Yes, an epic tragedy narrowly averted on behalf of a lot of civilians. Routine work for police law enforcement officers who deal, unfortunately, with unstable individuals more often than we can ever imagine. They'll tell you in a heartbeat, a domestic disturbance with a firearm involved some of the most deadly interactions police officers ever have with civilians.

Thank God in heaven the one yesterday in Appling ended with very little injury. And that's the comment. I'm Austin Rhodes. 95.1 FM News Talk WGAC.