A shot fired at two Statesboro police officers early Monday morning didn't strike anyone, but officers on patrol saw the bullet strike pavement on the road in front of them.
The officers were patrolling Martin Luther King Jr. Drive near Bobby Donaldson Avenue around 2:40 a.m. Monday when "they heard the sound of a single gunshot and observed a projectile strike the roadway in front of their vehicle," Statesboro Public Safety Director Wendell Turner said in a news release.
The incident is being investigated as an aggravated assault against law enforcement officers.
"The officers advised dispatch of the incident and multiple officers responded to the scene," Turner said. "After an extensive search of the area, no suspects were located. No officers were injured during the incident."
The shot fired at the officers follows recent incidents in New York City, in which two police officers were fatally shot in their patrol car, and Los Angeles, in which two men shot at a police vehicle with two officers inside who escaped unharmed.
Statesboro police are not commenting on whether the local incident is related to these attacks on police elsewhere, which followed the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York.
On Sunday night, two Los Angeles police officers were shot at Sunday night while they drove their patrol car in a gang-infested part of the city, according to The Associated Press. The officers were not injured, and while one suspect was arrested, police seek a second suspect.
Cpl. Justin Samples, the Statesboro Police Department's public information officer, said city police are not on "high alert" following the incident, but they do maintain regular safety measures and awareness. Turner issues reminders each month to officers, suggesting they stay aware and safe, Samples said.
"We stay alert as we usually do," Samples said.
Bulloch County sheriff's Chief Deputy Jared Akins said deputies are always encouraged to remain alert and follow "safety precautions as we are taught."
"We advise our deputies to not underestimate any call and to take nothing for granted," he said.
Someone knows who fired the shot at the Statesboro officers and "hopefully they will come forward," Akins said.
Turner said the case remains under investigation and "no further information is being released at this time."
Anyone with information concerning the incident is asked to contact the Statesboro Police Department at (912) 764-9911 or anonymously submit information to www.tipsoft.com by sending a text message beginning with "TIPSSPD" to 274637 (CRIMES).
Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.