Shooting spree in nearby Gordon County leaves one dead and several injured

A Gordon County crime spree leaves a woman dead and two teens hospitalized and wounded, the suspect is also hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

The first victim was discovered in the parking lot of the Sheriffs Office on Highway 41 North. The teen had managed to hobble the few blocks to the Sheriff's Office. A deputy on the scene where the first gunshot victim was discovered requested additional deputies units immediately in front of the Sheriff's department on 41 North.

The deputy was out with the victim who was suffering from what appeared to be two gunshot wounds to the leg The victim advised the deputy that there was another gunshot victim at another location in the county. EMS was dispatched to the front of the Sheriff's Department for the victim with the gunshot wounds to the leg.

The victim advised the deputy that there was also another victim and he gave  the location of where to find him. Additional deputies were requested immediately to assist in locating the second gunshot victim.

The victim also gave information to deputies about the suspect, he stated that the suspect  was  approximately 6' 1", 220 pounds, bald head and was wearing brown shorts. He also stated that the suspect worked at Ryan's. It was later determined that the suspects name was 38 year old Paul Buchannon of Calhoun, Georgia.

The victim also advised that Buchannon may still be at the original crime scene with a female. He also stated that Buchannon had said that he was going to shoot a neighbor and that Buchannon had a female victim held hostage with a handgun.
 

Officers were advised that 911 had received a call from a complainant who advised that Buchannon came in and shot the two male victims and took the complainants aunt (McKnight) by force. Upon arrival at the original crime scene, located at 2430 Highway 41, the son of the hostage victim was discovered  with a gunshot wound to the back. EMS was dispatched to that location for the second gunshot victim.

Witnesses provided information on the vehicle that he suspect left in, They described seeing Buchannon drive off in an early model Black Chevrolet Camaro that belonged to the hostage victim, Christy Ann McKnight, age 40, who is also the ex-girlfriend of the suspect.

McKnight's son also verified that the vehicle belonged to his mother. According to information from one of the victims,Buchannon stated that was going to kill McKnight.

Deputies from Gordon, Whitfield and Walker counties,as well as GBI agents, Georgia State Patrol troopers and a Department of Corrections' K-9 unit staged a manhunt in the area. A lookout was issued to all surrounding counties for the suspect and the Black Chevrolet Camaro.

Detectives were able to track the missing woman's cellular telelphone signal to a remote location near the Hill City community near the Whitfield County line in extreme northern Gordon County. Deputies found the black 'Camaro' parked next to the railroad tracks near Hill City Road. A cellular telephone was found in the car, which was not occupied. Deputies believed the shooter and the abducted woman to still be in the area and an intensive ground-search was initiated.

Shortly thereafter, Christy Ann McKnight's lifeless body was found along railroad tracks in the Hill City Community where she had been shot in the back of the head and her body dumped off of Highway 136.

A helicopter from the Georgia Aviation Authority was dispatched to help the officers. Dozens of heavily armed peace officers from the various agencies formed a perimeter about the area where Buchannon had last been seen with the woman, and search teams began combing the area. A local church appeared to have been entered where officers found broken glass and blood. It is not known at this time if the blood came from anyone involved in the incidents.

The manhunt continued as darkness fell. Crime scene technicians from the Sheriff's Office and the GBI conducted their investigation of the shooting scenes as the search coordinated by Sheriff Ralston and senior GBI, GSP and Sheriff's personnel, for Buchannon continued. At approximately 9:50 p.m. a search team consisting of a Georgia DOC officer with a bloodhound and deputy sheriff's confronted Buchannon in an very thickly wooded area near the Hill CIty crossroads. Buchannon threatened the officers with his pistol and was subsequently shot several times. The handgun recovered from Buchannon is believed to be the same gun involved in the shooting of the three victims earlier. No officers were injured. Buchannon was removed from the scene by ambulance and flown by helicopter to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, while still in police custody. His condition is unknown. 

Paul Buchannon, age 36,  has been charged with murder,  kidnapping, aggravated assault and firearms violations. Buchannon had previously been arrested on domestic violence charges.

UPDATE: The two teens were later identified as 19 year old Cody Shawn Adams (Mcknight's nephew) and 17 year old Dustin Lee Henderson (McKnight's son)

The officer-involved shooting is being seperately investigated by the GBI, as is routine is such matters.

Sheriff Mitch Ralston thanked and praised the peace officers form all of the agencies involved, as well as Emergency Management and Emergency Medical Service. The Sheriff described these crimes as great tragedy, and praised the actions of the officers involved in Buchannon's capture.

All parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Not every arrest/charge leads to a conviction. A conviction or acquittal is determined by the court system.

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You may contact Polk County Crime Examiner at polkexaminer@charter.net