(Lawrenceville, Georgia, April 2, 2014) Gwinnett County Police Department officers were dispatched to a suspicious vehicle call at 12:55 a.m. this morning, April 2, 2014.  The location was Lake Sweetwater Apartments, 3100 Sweetwater Road, unincorporated Lawrenceville, near the #700 building.  The call was in reference to three suspicious people in a vehicle that had been present for about an hour.

Two officers arrived on scene at 1:01 a.m. and located the suspicious vehicle.  Two male subjects immediately fled on foot and were pursued by the first responding officer.  The female driver of the vehicle was taken into custody by the second responding officer.  The second officer reported that he heard shots fired at 1:02 a.m.; at the same time the first officer stopped responding on his radio.  The second officer joined the foot chase after securing the driver.  The second officer rounded the corner of a building in the complex and found one of the male suspects armed with a gun.  The suspect was standing over the first officer who was lying injured on the ground.  The second officer fired several shots, striking and disabling the suspect.  The officer’s shots were fired at 1:03 a.m.

The second officer was able to determine that the injured officer was unconscious and suffering from a head injury, but had not been shot.  The injured officer was transported by ambulance to a local hospital.  The suspect was also transported to a local hospital by ambulance, but died as a result of his gunshot wounds.  The injured officer has since regained consciousness and received treatment for his injuries.  He was released from the hospital this morning.

The deceased suspect has been identified as Marcus Garner (B/M, 22 years old).  He had an outstanding warrant for probation violation at the time of the incident.  The female suspect and driver of the suspicious vehicle is Shena Penrose (B/F, 27 years old).  Penrose is in custody on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court.  Additional charges are under investigation.  The investigation into the identity of the second male that fled on foot is ongoing.  At this time detectives do not believe he was involved in the attack on the officer.

The Deadly Force Investigation Team (DFIT) is investigating the case.  DFIT is made up of members of the Homicide Unit, the Crime Scene Investigations Unit, the Internal Affairs Unit, the Medical Examiner’s Office, and the District Attorney’s Office.  The officers will be placed on administrative leave for a minimum of three days while the preliminary investigation takes place.  This is standard procedure in officer involved shootings.  The first officer (injured) has been with GCPD for nine years.  The second officer has been with GCPD for four years.  The officers’ identities will not be released until the DFIT investigation is complete.  This process can take up to 90 days.