Grovetown Police Investigator fatally shoots man with knife

A 33-year-old man, identified as Alexis Thorpe, was fatally shot on August 31 following a confrontation with a Grovetown Police Department investigator in Georgia.

According to preliminary reports, Investigator Robin Ashmore was stopped in an unmarked vehicle at the intersection of Katherine Street and Robinson Avenue when Thorpe approached the driver’s side window, yelling and hitting the glass. When Ashmore opened the door and ordered Thorpe to step back, the investigator observed that Thorpe was armed with a knife. After Thorpe allegedly refused commands to drop the weapon and lunged toward the vehicle's doorway, Ashmore fired two rounds.

Thorpe was struck in the upper body and left hand; he collapsed on a nearby sidewalk and was later pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured during the incident. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has launched an independent investigation into the shooting, and Ashmore has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome. The case will subsequently be reviewed by the Columbia Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.