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Man shot by sheriff's deputy ID'd
3WEB shooting
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into a shooting that happened Thursday afternoon in extreme north Forsyth. A Forsyth County Sheriff's deputy shot a man who had reportedly pulled a rifle on the officer. - photo by Jim Dean

NORTH FORSYTH — Authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred Thursday afternoon in the area of the Hopewell and Hubbard Town roads.

Robin Regan, a spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, said the incident happened about 4 p.m. when a deputy on patrol came across a suspicious black pickup truck in an undeveloped subdivision.

A man, later identified as 46-year-old Jeffery Todd Nielson of Cumming, emerged from the vehicle with a “lever-action rifle.”

Nielson, whom Regan described as emotionally distraught, reportedly pumped the rifle and then pointed it at the deputy as he approached.

The deputy, whose name has not been released, fired several times before Nielson could, subduing him.

Regan did not know where or how many times Nielson was struck. He said the man was taken by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.

The severity of his wounds has not been released, but Nielson was in stable condition Friday night and expected to survive, according to the sheriff’s office.

It was not immediately clear what charges he would face when released.

The deputy, who was not hurt, has been put on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure in such cases, Regan said.

He added that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to handle the shooting probe.

Authorities remained on the scene, which is just west of Ga. 400 and south of the Dawson County line, well into Thursday night.