A Roswell, Georgia, Police officer was shot and killed Friday night (February 7, 2025) while responding to a call of a suspicious person in the parking lot of a pickleball club.

Officer Jeremy Labonte, 24, arrived on scene and approached a suspect for questioning, CBS reports.

The suspect, identified after the fact by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as 23-year-old Edward Espinoza, reportedly drew a handgun and fired multiple shots at Office Labonte.

Labonte was mortally wounded and died at a local hospital.

Espinoza was taken into custody. He has been charged with murder, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony.

“Officer Labonte joined the Roswell Police Department on November 1, 2021, continuing a lifelong commitment to public service that began well before he became a police officer. Over the years that followed, Officer Labonte faithfully and joyfully served the Roswell community as a member of the nightshift patrol alongside his D-Squad brothers and sisters. He was universally beloved by all who were blessed to know him as a friend, a husband, a son, and a public servant. His absence now leaves a void that could never be filled,” the Roswell PD said in a Facebook statement.