BIBB COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — Austin Patrick Hall, the suspect who allegedly shot two deputies in Bibb County Wednesday afternoon, is now in custody, the US Marshals Service reports.
According to Marshal Martin Keeley, Hall was found in a tent behind a trailer in the Bulldog Bend community in Bibb County, less than a mile away from where the shooting happened. Hall reportedly surrendered to Marshals after hearing them surrounding his tent.
Bibb County District Attorney Michael Jackson said that after 5 p.m. Wednesday, Deputy Brad Johnson and Investigator Chris Poole were chasing the driver of a stolen car in the Brierfield community when Hall allegedly opened fire, shooting both deputies. Hall subsequently left the vehicle and fled on foot.
Following the shooting, there was a widespread manhunt for Hall, who has had several run-ins with the law over the years and had previously escaped custody as an inmate in Wilcox County in 2019.
As of Thursday morning, Poole has been released from UAB Hospital while Johnson remains in critical condition after being shot in the head. His current condition is unknown.
“It’s been said that a coward dies a thousand deaths, but a hero one,” Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade said in a press conference Thursday. “Brad Johnson was a hero.”
Hall has been charged with attempted murder and assault on a police officer. He is being held at the Shelby County Jail on no bond.
