UPDATE: Suspect killed in deputy confrontation after deadly Family Dollar shooting in Macon
Deputies say the suspect exchanged gunfire with law enforcement after running into the woods.
UPDATE (9/3/25): The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office says 43-year-old Catrell Tywan Ford was shot and killed during a confrontation with deputies Tuesday night, hours after investigators say he fatally shot 56-year-old Regina Darlene Smith and critically injured a 79-year-old man at the Family Dollar on Jeffersonville Road.
Deputies say Ford fled the scene and was spotted at a convenience store near Spring Street and Riverside Drive just before 10 p.m. After he ran “over 300 yards” into nearby woods, deputies say he exchanged gunfire with law enforcement and was mortally wounded. Ford was taken to a hospital, where he died. No deputies were injured.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now reviewing the deputy-involved shooting. The 79-year-old victim remains in critical condition, according to investigators.
UPDATE: The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office says it’s searching for 43-year-old Catrell Tywan Ford in connection with Tuesday’s shooting at the Family Dollar on Jeffersonville Road.
Investigators say Ford is about 5’6″ and 190 pounds. His photo is attached.
He was last seen near Lancing Lane and is considered armed and dangerous. Deputies urge anyone who sees him to call 911 immediately and not approach him.
According to Georgia Department of Corrections records, Ford has previous convictions including voluntary manslaughter in Fulton County in 1999 and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Lamar County in 2015. He was most recently released from prison in 2019.
Deputies did not provide an update on the condition of the man who was shot but did say in an updated news release that he is 79 years old. Coroner Leon Jones tells 41NBC he is the father of the woman who died at the scene.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
UPDATE: The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office confirmed one woman is dead and a man is in the hospital after a shooting in the parking lot of Family Dollar at 3656 Jeffersonville Road Tuesday afternoon.
According to a news release, deputies responded just before 5 p.m. and found a 56-year-old woman unresponsive inside a Nissan Rogue. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A man in the vehicle was also shot and rushed to the hospital, where he’s in critical condition. Investigators say witnesses reported the shooting may have stemmed from an earlier motor vehicle collision.
Deputies from Bibb and Jones counties are searching for a suspect.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at (478) 751-7500 or Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME, according to a news release.
ORIGINAL STORY:
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Macon-Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones has reported a homicide at the Family Dollar near the intersection of Highway 80 and Highway 57 in Macon.
Jones said one person died at the scene and another person was taken to Atrium Health Navicent’s emergency room.
That’s all the information we have right now.
41NBC has reached out to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office for more information. A crew is on the way to the scene.
