GBI probes shooting death involving officer

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The girlfriend of a Newnan policeman is dead following a shooting incident Sunday at 26 Blue Ridge Drive in the Widewater subdivision.
By ELIZABETH MELVILLE elizabeth@newnan.com Authorities with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Coweta County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a fatal shooting involving an off-duty Newnan police officer and his live-in girlfriend. The shooting occurred Sunday at 11:50 p.m. at 26 Blue Ridge Drive in the Widewater subdivision off Baker Road, according to Newnan Police Chief Douglas L. “Buster” Meadows.
Officer Josh Keller, 26, a 4-year veteran of the police department, was at his residence with his girlfriend, 24-year-old Crystal McCarty. “During the course of handling a firearm that he purchased, the weapon discharged,” said Meadows. The bullet struck McCarty in her abdomen. McCarty was taken by helicopter ambulance to Atlanta Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead, according to authorities. An autopsy to determine the cause of death will be conducted, according to the chief. Investigators with the Coweta Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene initially. The investigation has since been turned over to the GBI, and the sheriff’s office will be assisting moving forward, according to sheriff’s Major James Yarbrough. The GBI’s investigation could take about a week, according to Meadows. The case file will then be turned over to the Coweta District Attorney’s office for review. Keller is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, according to Meadows.

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