SMYRNA, GA - On Friday, August 14, authorities announced that they have identified the alleged suspect in a pistol-whipping incident from late June that was caught on video.
The Smyrna Police Department (SPD) said they are actively searching for Freddrick Hammonds after issuing a warrant for his arrest on Friday for one count of felony aggravated battery, 11Alive reported. SPD previously released video of the fight that appeared to stem from a road rage dispute.
Police said the victim was "pummeled with a handgun" in the fight on June 27. Police said the incident began with the victim, a man in his 50s, noticing the "other vehicle following him as he turned off the main roadway." SPD Lt. Meredith Holt said the victim was then followed to his apartment complex.
The video shows the victim getting out of his car and saying something toward the passenger side of another vehicle. He goes back to get into his own car when the passenger, since identified as Hammonds, gets out and confronts him.
The video further showed the two briefly exchanging a couple of words before the suspect threw the first punch and continued hitting the man. Midway through the fight, the suspect pulled what appeared to be a handgun from his waistband and struck the victim with it. In the video, the man falls to the ground and the suspect pistol-whips him three to four times. He and the driver, a young woman, then leave the scene while the man struggles to get up.
Lt. Holt said the man was taken to the hospital. "The driver of motor vehicle one had significant injuries," Holt said. "We've noticed too over the years that some of the road rage incidents have become way more violent and a lot more frequent and intense," Holt added.
SPD was also able to identify the woman as 18-year-old Hayle Kirkpatrick. She has been charged with obstructing an investigation and a warrant has been issued for her arrest. As of Friday, police did not have any information about Hammonds' possible whereabouts and no photo of him was available from police.
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