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Marcus Maurice Williams

Age : 31

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 08/11/2026

Location : Grassdale Suites, 1400 Joe Frank Harris Parkway SE

City : Cartersville

County : Bartow

State : Georgia

Agency : Bartow County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police after response to reported armed threat

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/11/2026, at about 6:30 a.m., Bartow County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the McDonald’s at 1370 Joe Frank Harris Parkway SE after an employee reported that a man had pointed a gun at the employee in the drive-thru. Deputies located 31-year-old Marcus Maurice Williams in the parking lot of the neighboring Grassdale Suites.

The GBI said Williams was holding a gun when a deputy encountered him. According to the GBI, the deputy gave Williams commands, Williams allegedly pointed the gun at the deputy and fired, and the deputy returned fire, shooting Williams. Williams was taken to a hospital, where he died.

A witness staying at Grassdale Suites described hearing two initial gunshots, followed by someone yelling, “Let me see your hands,” and then approximately seven or eight additional shots. Cellphone video showed the aftermath in the motel parking lot. Investigators placed nearly a dozen evidence markers around a Bartow County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle, which had a bullet hole in the driver’s-side door.

The GBI is investigating the shooting at the request of the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office. Williams’ body was taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy.

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY
The involved deputy has not been publicly identified. The publicly released account does not establish the precise number or sequence of shots fired by Williams and the deputy. The witness account of two initial shots, a command to show hands, and seven or eight subsequent shots, together with the bullet hole in the deputy’s patrol vehicle and evidence markers at the scene, provides additional physical and eyewitness evidence beyond the initial police account.

AGENCY/DEPARTMENT RECORD
Bartow County Sheriff’s Office has been involved in several recent fatal shootings: deputies killed Justin Eric Hardin after a March 2026 pursuit and PIT maneuver; deputies killed Dylan Burl Rice in December 2025 while serving a search warrant after police alleged he pointed what was later determined to be a pellet air rifle; Bartow deputies and a Cartersville officer killed Carrie Hall during a May 2025 felony traffic stop after police alleged she exited her vehicle with a gun; and a Bartow SWAT officer killed Chris Cochran during an August 2024 barricade after police alleged he pointed a long gun from a window.

OFFICER BACKGROUND
The involved deputy has not been publicly identified.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2026/08/11/bartow-county-sheriffs-office-involved-shooting-gbi-confirms/
https://gbi.georgia.gov/press-releases/2026-08-11/gbi-investigates-officer-involved-shooting-bartow-county